A campaign ad from the Texas Democrat opponent of GOP Rep. Mayra Flores altered a photo of her to make her look more sinister, according to a Fox News report.
The original photo was featured on Flores’ Instagram site in early 2022, showing her holding a rifle as she sported a wide smile. But the campaign ad showed the same photo with her eyebrows altered.
“First, Vicente Gonzalez hired a racist blogger to attack me for my heritage,” Flores tweeted. “Now Vicente is doing the dirty work himself with this shameless and pathetic photoshopping.”
First, Vicente Gonzalez hired a racist blogger to attack me for my heritage. Now Vicente is doing the dirty work himself with this shameless and pathetic photoshopping. https://t.co/5cMNOGQsyU pic.twitter.com/DukV8Wc1ZC
— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) October 12, 2022
Flores was referencing blogger Jerry McHale, who received campaign funds from Gonzales for “advertising services.” After the payment, the blog repeatedly and viciously attacked Flores, calling her “Miss Frijoles” over 20 times.
Gonzales currently serves as the Congressional representative in Texas’ 15th Congressional District and now is trying to unseat Flores in Texas’ 34th Congressional District.
The campaign ad featuring the allegedly doctored photo slammed Flores for voting against first the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which she opposed because it would implement red flag laws.In late September, Flores introduced the Reduce Gun Violence Act.
“The safety and well-being of our future, our children, is the number one priority of all parents across America,” she said at the time. “As the mother of four children, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. If we can afford to send billions of dollars overseas, the least we can do is secure our children’s schools and provide them with adequate resources.”
She proposed funding her legislation through the use of unobligated funds already appropriated for the IRS.
“Instead of hiring thousands of IRS tax enforcement agents to go after hard-working American families, I want to see these funds be used to secure our schools, hire more school resource officers, and help train teachers and students on school safety best practices,” Flores asserted.
The bill allocated $2 billion annually over five years to the DFOJ’s Byrne-Jag program and the COPS program “to harden the physical security of our nation’s schools.” It required the creation of a school safety task force headed by the U.S. Attorney General.