LUPE Votes: We want a candidate in CD 15 who will represent struggling people
MCALLEN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez says it would be a mistake for Democrats to choose a candidate outside the mainstream to run in Congressional District 15, the seat he is about to depart.
The voters of CD 15, which is anchored in Hidalgo County, have elected Democrats to Congress for decades. However, following redistricting, the boundary lines of the district have been redrawn by Republicans to favor Republicans. A bunch of counties to the north of the Rio Grande Valley have been added to the district to make it more GOP-friendly. Indeed, if the 2020 presidential election had been held in the new-look district, Donald Trump would have won by 2.8 percent.\xa0
\u201cA liberal, super progressive can win the March primary. But we lose in November, (because it is now a swing district),\u201d Gonzalez, D-McAllen, told the Rio Grande Guardian. \u201cIf we choose the right candidate we can retain the district.\u201d
Because it is now much harder for a Democrat to win in CD 15, Gonzalez has switched to neighboring Congressional 34, anchored in Cameron County.
LUPE Votes and We the Pueblo do not care what Gonzalez thinks. They are actively looking for a progressive candidate to run in CD 15.\xa0
\u201cWe want a person that really represents the people, the struggling people,\u201d said Martha Sanchez, an activist for LUPE Votes.
Dani Marrero Hi, communications for LUPE Votes agrees. \xa0
\u201cIf you know someone in your life who is ready to fight for working class South Texans in Congress, we need you to nominate them,\u201d Marrero Hi said. \u201cThe only requirement are for you to be ready to represent working class South Texans. You don\u2019t need to be rich. You don\u2019t need to be the top one percent of the Valley. You don\u2019t need fancy degrees. All you need is las ganas to represent our people in Congress.\u201d
The attached podcast features a recent news conference held by LUPE Votes and We the Pueblo in Archer Park, McAllen. Sanchez and Marrero Hi give their description on the sort of candidate the groups are looking for to run in CD 15,\xa0 while another LUPE Votes member, Jacquline Arias, provides details on upcoming LUPE Votes events.\xa0
To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.