A Texas Army National Guard Infantry Captain and former Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Rio Grande Valley announced he is launching his Republican campaign for Texas’ 34th Congressional District.

Eric Flores also served as a city attorney and municipal judge prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in the McAllen Criminal Division.

“Every day, I see how broken policies hurt our community,” Flores said in a statement. “Enough is enough. Politicians put themselves first, while the Valley gets left behind. President Trump stood up to the insiders and fought for places like ours: the communities the career politicians always forget. We cannot lose this opportunity. That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need bold, principled leadership, and we need it now."

While serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Flores prosecuted members of cartel-connected and human-smuggling networks. He is currently a partner at O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo, a statewide firm, where he leads the litigation department defending municipalities and school districts across Texas.

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez currently occupies District 34. He beat Republican challenger Mayra Flores in the Nov. 2024 election by over 5,100 votes.