Kansas has a reputation of being a reliably Republican state, especially in presidential elections.
But Kansas does sometimes elect Democrats in statewide races, most notably for Governor.
So how politically competitive is Kansas?
The answer depends on which office we’re talking about.
The following table lists the average partisan margin of victory for statewide elections in Kansas, based on the office the election is for.
These averages were calculated using data publicly available on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website, for elections from 2004 to 2024.
Governor elections are the most competitive in Kansas, followed by elections for Attorney General.
Presidential elections are next, followed by elections for Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and US Senate.
Governor
The most competitive elections in Kansas are for Governor.
Democrats have won three of the last five Kansas Governor’s races.
Across those five elections, Republicans won on average by 2.0%.
Recent Kansas Governor elections have been especially competitive.
Each of the last three Kansas Governor’s races have been decided by less than 6%.
I wrote an article about Laura Kelly’s narrow victory in the 2022 Kansas Governor’s race.
Attorney
General
The next most competitive elections in Kansas are for Attorney General.
Republicans won four of the five most recent Kansas Attorney General elections. A Democrat won one of the five most recent Kansas Attorney General elections.
Across those five elections, Republicans won on average by 9.8%.
In 2022, Kris Kobach, a Republican, defeated Chris Mann, a Democrat, by only 1.6%. This year’s Attorney General election in Kansas will be a rematch between the same two candidates.
President
Kansas has voted for the Republican candidate for president in each of the six most recent presidential elections.
Across those six elections, Kansas voted for the Republican candidate by an average of 18.9%.
Since 2004, the closest presidential election in Kansas was the 2020 presidential election, when Trump won Kansas by 14.7%.
Kansas has voted Republican in the past 15 presidential elections, according to Wikipedia.
Kansas hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since it voted for Lyndon Johnson in 1964, when he ran against Barry Goldwater.
That means it has been 62 years since a Democrat has won Kansas in a presidential election.
Kansas has voted for Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections.
On average, Trump has won Kansas by 17.1%.
Secretary
of State
Republicans have won each of the five most recent Secretary of State races in Kansas.
Republicans have won these elections by an average of 20.0%.
Since 2006, the closest Secretary of State election in Kansas was in 2018, when Scott Schwab won by 8.7%.
That election was a three-way race between Republican Scott Schwab, Democrat Brian McClendon, and Libertarian Rob Hodgkinson.
I wrote an article about Scott Schwab’s reelection in 2022.
State
Treasurer
Republicans have won each of the five most recent State Treasurer elections in Kansas.
Republicans have won these elections by an average of 21.8%.
Since 2006, the closest State Treasurer election in Kansas was in 2022, when Steven Johnson won by 12.6%.
That election was a three-way race between Republican Steven Johnson, Democrat Lynn Rogers, and Libertarian Steve Roberts.
Rogers was elected lieutenant governor in 2018 on a gubernatorial ticket alongside Laura Kelly, who was elected governor.
Rogers served as lieutenant governor from Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2021, when Gov. Kelly appointed Rogers to serve as State Treasurer, after Republican Jake LaTurner was elected to the US House in 2020.
In the 2022 election, both Johnson and Rogers were well qualified for the position of State Treasurer.
Even though Rogers lost, he outperformed previous Democratic State Treasurer candidates because voters remembered he had served as Kelly’s lieutenant governor, and he was an appointed incumbent.
I voted for Rogers, but I was unimpressed by his political skills as a campaigner in the 2022 State Treasurer election.
I wrote an article about the 2022 Kansas State Treasurer election, where you can learn more about the race.
Insurance
Commissioner
Republicans have won each of the five most recent Insurance Commissioner races in Kansas.
In one of those elections, the Republican ran unopposed in the general election.
Republicans won the other four elections by an average of 26.3%.
Since
2006, the closest election for Insurance Commissioner took place in
2014, when Republican Ken Selzer won by 23.0%.
Republicans have won each of the seven most recent US Senate elections in Kansas.
Republicans have won those elections by an average of 26.3%.
Kansas has been represented exclusively by Republicans in the US Senate for 87 years.
The most recent Democrat to represent Kansas in the US Senate was George McGill, who served from Dec. 1930 to Jan. 1939.
McGill was elected to the US Senate in 1930 and 1932.
That means it has been 94 years since Kansas elected a Democrat to the US Senate.
McGill lost reelection in 1938.
Not all Republicans perform equally well in US Senate elections in Kansas.
Jerry Moran has performed better in US Senate elections than either Roger Marshall or Pat Roberts.
I wrote about about Jerry Moran’s reelection in 2022.
Since 2004, the closest US Senate election in Kansas took place in 2014, when Pat Roberts, a Republican, defeated Greg Orman, an independent, and Randall Batson, a Libertarian.
Roberts won the 2014 election by 10.6%.
In 2020, Roger Marshall, a Republican, was elected to the US Senate, for the first time, by 11.4%.
Marshall ran against Barbara Bollier, a Democrat, and Jason Buckley, a Libertarian. Roger Marshall is up for reelection this year.
How
you can help Kansas Democrats
This year, I am raising money for Democrats in competitive races, nationwide, through the Democratic Victory Fund.
I am also raising money for Christy Davis, who is running for the US Senate in Kansas.
If Davis wins the Democratic Primary, she will run against incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall in the general election.
By default, donations to the Democratic Victory Fund are split evenly between the featured candidates, but donors can choose to make directed donations to specific candidates within the fund, instead.
So, if you want to specifically support the candidates from Kansas, you can do so.
I have already raised $100.63 for Chris Mann, who is running against Kris Kobach in the Kansas Attorney General election.
Since I have met my fundraising goal for Chris Mann, I have rotated him out of the Democratic Victory Fund.
Candidates
have until June 1 to file their candidacy for the 2026 Kansas
Primary, according to the Kansas Secretary of State's website.
There are many winnable State House races for the Kansas Legislature where a Democrat hasn’t filed to run.
That being said, the filing deadline is still a month away. Last year, I discussed the most competitive Kansas House seats, and you can check the candidate list from the Kansas Secretary of State’s website to see if any Democrats are running for a particular seat. If you live near a competitive district, you might try to convince a Democrat to run for the position.
If you live in the district, or you are willing to move to the district, you could also consider running for the position, yourself.
I plan to share an ActBlue fundraising form to raise money for Kansas candidates, including candidates for the Kansas Legislature, once we are closer to the filing deadline for the primary election.
This isn’t the first time I’ve compared the competitiveness of Kansas elections, based on the office the election is for. You can read a similar article I wrote in 2022 about partisan advantage in Kansas elections.
Between
Trump’s War
on Iran, Trump’s tariffs,
and the murder
of American citizens by agents
of the federal government, things are not going well in Trump’s
America.
The horrors
committed by an aspiring autocrat are bad for the country, but they
also create a favorable political environment for Democrats in this
year’s upcoming midterm elections.
Today, we’re
going to examine how well Democrats might perform in the US House in
2026.
In the
process, we will discuss elections where Democrats have performed
well in the US House, from 1990 to the present.
Baseline
Democrats won
215 US House seats in 2024.
This will be
the baseline for comparisons that discuss how many
additional seats Democrats need to win in 2026 to perform as well as
they have in previous elections, when Democrats performed well in the
House.
I will rely on
a table of US House results for elections from 1990 to 2024, and its
accompanying graphs, that I first published in Republicans
retain House control in January 2025, about the results of the
2024 House elections.
I originally
obtained the data in that table from Wikipedia, which I believe to be
a reliable source for data about historical election results.
I will also
use the forecasts for US House races compiled by the Cook Political
Report.
Both the Cook
Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball publish forecasts for
various races that describe how likely Democrats or Republicans are
to win, using tossup, lean, and likely designations.
It’s a lot
easier to use one of these resources for my political analysis, at a
time, than to try to use both simultaneously.
I primarily
used forecasts from Sabato’s Crystal Ball during my coverage
of elections in 2024.
This article
will instead use forecasts from the Cook Political Report.
Here are the
forecasts for US House races from the Cook
Political Report, as of March 12, 2026.
Some of the
races in the screenshot above are described as open seats, which
means the elected official currently representing the district is not
running for reelection, at least not in the district they currently
represent.
The results of
the 2025
elections and the results of recent special
elections indicate Democrats are positioned to perform well in
the 2026 midterms.
Now, let’s
explore just how well Democrats could do in 2026 in the US House,
by examining several scenarios, in ascending levels of optimism for
Democrats.
The Bare
Minimum
There are 435
seats in the US House of Representatives.
That means 218
votes are required to obtain a majority in the US House, if all
members are present and voting.
Democrats won
215 US House seats in 2024, which means they only need to flip three
seats to win a majority in the chamber, securing House control.
But given the
current political climate, fueled by a narcissistic,
idiotic,
tyrannicalbuffoon
of a president, Democrats will likely do much better than that.
Cook’s
Median Prediction
The Cook
Political Report considers 212 House seats to be Solid Democratic,
Likely Democratic, or Lean Democratic.
Cook considers
206 House seats to be Solid Republican, Likely Republican, or Lean
Republican.
Cook
classifies 17 House seats as tossups.
If we divide
these tossup races evenly, Democrats and Republicans would each
receive 8.5 additional seats.
This analysis
is for Cook’s median prediction, which produces a fractional
result.
In practice, a
seat would not be split by partisan affiliation, as the following
analysis might suggest.
Adding these
tossups to the partisan totals, Cook’s median prediction is for
Democrats to win 220.5 seats, and Republicans to win 214.5 seats.
This would
give Democrats only two, and a half, more votes than the 218 they
need to secure the House majority, if all members are present and
voting.
Democrats won
215 seats in 2024, so they would only need to flip five, and a half,
seats to reach Cook’s current median prediction.
Put another
way, Cook is currently predicting that Democrats will only flip five,
and a half, House seats in 2026.
Given the
current political climate, I believe the Cook Political Report is
likely underestimating Democratic chances in House races in 2026.
But it’s
also worth bearing in mind that they are experts in election
forecasting, and I am not.
2020 –
Democrats’ Most Recent Majority
In 2020, Joe
Biden was elected president, following Trump’s catastrophic
mismanagement
of the COVID pandemic.
That was the
most recent election where Democrats won control of the US House.
In 2020,
Democrats won 222 House seats, and Republicans won 213.
Coincidentally,
those numbers exactly flipped in 2022, when Republicans won 222 seats
and Democrats won 213.
Democrats
would need to flip 7 seats in 2026 to win as many seats as they won
in 2020, the last time they held majority control of the House.
2018 –
Trump’s First Midterm
Democrats
performed particularly well in the US House in 2018, during Trump’s
first midterm.
In 2018,
Democrats won 235 seats in the US House.
Democrats
would need to flip 20 seats in 2026 to perform as well as they did in
2018.
I find this
outcome to be the most likely of the historical comparisons we will
discuss today.
I created the graphs in this article using Flourish, a website that allows users to create compelling visual aids.
Let’s
examine what this would look like in practice.
To win 235
seats in 2026, Democrats would need to win all of the Solid D, Likely
D, Lean D, Tossup, and Lean R races, as well as two Likely R seats.
I find the
chances that Democrats perform as well as they did in 2018, in
Trump’s first midterm, to be a reasonable prediction.
Therefore, I
believe Democrats are positioned to perform better in 2026 than
Cook’s forecasts predict.
But that being said, I have consistently
been optimistic
about Democrats’ political chances, even in elections where
Democrats didn’t end up doing particularly well.
Comparing
2018 and 2006
In many ways,
Trump’s reelection in 2024 feels reminiscent of George W. Bush’s
reelection in 2004.
So it would
seem right that Democrats would be positioned to perform well in
Trump’s second midterm, just as they did in Bush’s second
midterm.
But Democrats
actually won more seats in the US House in 2018, than they did in
2006.
Democrats won
235 House seats in 2018, whereas Democrats only won 233 House seats
in 2006.
If Democrats
perform as well in the House in 2026 as they did in 2006, they would
have two fewer seats than they had after 2018.
Democrats
would need to flip 18 seats to win a majority as large as they had
after the 2006 election.
Democrats would need to win all
of the Solid D, Likely D, Lean D, Tossup, and Lean R races to win 233
seats, and match their performance from 2006.
2008 –
Obama’s First Presidential Election
Now, let’s
consider what it would look like if Democrats performed reallywell
in 2026.
In 2008,
Barack Obama was elected president, following public backlash to
Bush’s disastrous War in Iraq and the Great Recession.
Democrats also
performed incredibly well in the US House, where they won 257 seats.
Democrats
would need to flip 42 House seats to perform as well as they did in
2008.
Democrats
would need to win all Solid D, Likely D, Lean D, Tossup, Lean R, and
Likely R races, as well as seven Solid R races, to win 257 seats, and
match their performance in 2008.
I believe the
country is doing far worse in Trump’s second term than it did at
this point in his first term.
So it’s
possible Democrats could outperform their 2018 numbers in the House.
But I believe
it would be quite a stretch for Democrats to win as many seats as
they did in 2008.
1992 –
Bill Clinton’s First Presidential Election
In 1992, Bill
Clinton was elected President.
I was born in
August 1991, so I was one-year-old at the time.
In 1992,
Democrats won 258 House seats, one more than they won in 2008.
Democrats would need to flip 43
seats to match the size of their majority after 1992.
That means
they would need to win eight Solid Republican seats.
1990 –
George H.W. Bush’s Midterm
Democrats won
267 seats in the House in 1990, the midterm election during George
H.W. Bush’s one-term presidency.
Democrats
would need to flip 52 seats to match the majority they won in 1990.
That means
they would need to win 17 Solid Republican seats in 2026.
That’s
definitely not happening.
What you can
do
No one paying
attention can deny we are living through a time of profound
importance in the United States.
The crisis
presented by Trump’s erratic and authoritarian presidency creates
both hardship, and opportunity.
We are truly
living through history, and now is not the time to sit on the
sidelines.
Get involved,
and do what you can to nudge the great tides of history in the right
direction.
The next big
No Kings protest will be held
on Saturday, March 28.
Make a sign,
and attend a protest near you.
There will be
no shortage of outrages to protest.
If you are
interested in competitive elections in your state, let me know.
I can tell you
if there are any competitive Senate, House, or Governor elections in
your state, and when your state’s primary elections will be held.
We should all
cast informed votes in every election we can.
And campaigns are
always looking for volunteers.
Finally, if
you want Democrats to win as many races as possible in 2026, you can
donate to the Democratic
Victory Fund, which raises money for Democrats in important and
competitive elections, nationwide.
If you find
the actions of Trump and his administration to be truly unacceptable
and unconscionable, now is the time to get involved.
In this article, we will
discuss the concerning aspects of Gonzalez’s time in Congress, and
the positive things he has done, before discussing his progressive
primary opponent, Etienne Rosas.
Texas will hold
its primary elections on Tuesday, March 3.
So next week, Texas
Democrats will decide whether to choose Gonzalez to run as their
party’s nominee in November’s general election.
I disagree with some of
Gonzalez’s positions, but I intend to consider his record fairly.
I will also discuss how
Gonzalez has voted on key issues in Congress, from 2021 to the
present.
Frontline
Democrats
Political pundits and news
organizations on the center left often heap fawning praise on
moderate Democrats in challenging frontline districts.
Often, this praise fails to
include discussions about the votes in Congress these moderate
Democrats have taken, which Democratic voters might disagree with.
This article is primarily
about Vicente Gonzalez, but I will also discuss problematic votes
made by Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared
Golden.
According to Roll
Call, all five of these Democrats were elected in districts in
2024 that voted for Trump.
All of these Democratic
incumbents are running for reelection to the US House, with the
exception of Jared Golden, according to the Cook
Political Report.
This article focuses on
Gonzalez because:
1) His primary is only a
week away.
2) He is a genuinely interesting politician.
3) It’s easier to focus
on how one person voted on many important issues, than to focus on
how several people voted on many important issues.
I believe it’s important
to celebrate Democrats who can win elections in challenging
districts.
But I also believe it’s
important to carefully examine the records of members of Congress.
In this article, I hope to
do both.
Now, let’s return to
Vicente Gonzalez.
Supports
Bukele
In an
interview with Politico,
Vicente Gonzalez praised Nayib Bukele, the authoritarian leader of El
Salvador.
“I think
it’s undeniable what he’s done has been spectacular, in terms of
bringing security to over 98% of the population that lived in turmoil
for over a generation,” Gonzalez told Politico.
“He
clean[ed] up the most dangerous country in the world and turn[ed] it
into the safest in the hemisphere.”
Human
Rights Watch has criticized the methods used by Bukele in his
crackdown on gang violence.
“In March
2022, pro-Bukele lawmakers adopted a state of emergency, suspending a
range of constitutional rights in response to a peak in gang
violence,” HRW wrote on its profile on the state of human rights in
El Salvador.
“Security
forces arrested tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of
children, and committed widespread human rights violations, including
arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture and other
ill-treatment of detainees.”
The
Guardian reported Vicente Gonzalez attended Bukele’s second
inauguration in June 2024.
Gonzalez has
co-chaired the El
Salvador Caucus in the US House since July 2024, when it was
created by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz.
In his remarks
announcing the creation of the El Salvador Caucus, Gaetz said its
purpose will be, “to vindicate the choices that President Bukele
has made.”
"El
Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has converted El Salvador from
the murder capital of the world, into a reliable and stable partner
for peace and security for the United States of America,” Gaetz
said during his remarks on the House floor.
"The El
Salvador Caucus will exist to nurture and advance the US-El Salvador
relationship, to encourage strong borders, strong culture, and the
strong reforms President Bukele has put into effect.”
I disapprove
of Bukele’s human rights abuses and find it rather strange that
Gonzalez, a Democratic Congressman, supports the authoritarian
leader.
Votes
against Trans Rights
Vicente
Gonzalez was one of only three House Democrats who voted in favor of
a bill that would ban gender-affirming surgeries, hormone replacement
therapy, and puberty-blocking medications, for transgender youth,
nationwide.
Late last
year, Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Don Davis
(NC-1) joined 213 Republicans to vote in favor of the legislation,
which was introduced by Republican Marjorie
Taylor Greene.
The
Advocate wrote a good article about Greene’s bill, which
includes quotes from a pediatrics professor, officials from the Human
Rights Campaign and Trevor Project, and the parent of a transgender
teenager.
207 Democrats
and four Republicans voted against the bill.
Three
Democrats and three Republicans did not vote on the measure.
The House
approved
the bill, 216 to 211, on Dec. 17, 2025.
That wasn’t
the only time Gonzalez has voted against trans rights.
Early last
year, Gonzalez and Cuellar voted in favor of a bill that would ban
transgender women and girls from participating in female school
athletic programs, nationwide.
The bill would
implement this policy by declaring
it to be a violation of Title IX for a school that receives federal
funding, which includes both K-12 and colleges and universities, to
allow a transgender woman or girl to participate in athletic programs
designated for women or girls.
Gonzalez and
Cuellar, the only Democrats who voted for the bill, joined 216
Republicans to advance the legislation.
206 Democrats
voted against the bill.
Six Democrats
and three Republicans did not vote on the legislation.
One Democrat,
Don Davis, voted Present.
The House
passed the bill,
218 to 206, on Jan. 14, 2025.
This table
compares how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie
Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared Golden voted on proposed federal
transgender sports bans in 2023 and 2025.
About two
years earlier, on April 20, 2023, the House considered
a bill that would have done the same thing.
Gonzalez did
not vote on that bill.
So Gonzalez
went from not voting on a federal transgender sports ban, in April
2023, to voting in favor of one, in Jan. 2025.
Cuellar voted
against a federal transgender sports ban in 2023, but voted in favor
of one in 2025.
Don Davis did
not vote on the sports ban in 2023, and he voted Present in 2025.
I discussed
the Kansas Transgender Sports Ban in an editorial
I wrote in 2024.
John Oliver
discussed the Republican obsession with transgender
athletes during a great segment on his program LastWeekTonight.
During an interview with the
Texas
Tribune in Nov. 2024, Gonzalez said his ability to understand the
social conservatism of his district, and knowing when to break from
the Democratic party, helped him keep his seat in Congress.
"I told the
entire caucus, don’t ever try to whip me again, because I know my
district better than anybody in this room,” Gonzalez said.
"Having me
97% of the time is better than having my opponent 100% of the time.
We need to give that leeway, especially to frontline members. Nobody
knows our districts better than us.”
I dislike that
Gonzalez has voted against trans rights in Congress.
Now that we’ve
discussed the troubling parts of Gonzalez’s record, let’s examine
the times he has voted the right way on important issues, including
the times he’s voted in favor of LGBT rights, which we will explore
next.
Votes in
favor of LGBT Rights
Gonzalez voted
in favor of the Equality
Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
221 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and three Republicans, voted in favor of the
bill.
206
Republicans voted against the legislation.
2 Republicans
did not vote on the bill.
The House
passed the bill,
224 to 206, on February 25, 2021.
The bill did
not receive a vote in the Senate.
This table
shows how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, and Jared Golden voted on
key issues in 2021 and 2022.
During this
time, Democrats held majorities in the US House and US Senate under
President Joe Biden.
Gonzalez also
voted in favor of a bill that protects same-sex marriage.
Congress
passed, and President Biden signed, the Respect for Marriage Act in
2022.
Currently, the right to
same sex marriage is protected nationwide under the Supreme Court’s
ruling in Obergefell
v. Hodges.
Liberals
feared
the US Supreme Court might overturn its decisions protecting gay
marriage after the court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Respect for Marriage
Act was passed due to these concerns.
The Respect
for Marriage Act requires
states to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states, and
requires the federal government to recognize the legitimacy of
same-sex marriages conducted by states that allow them.
219 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and 39 Republicans, showed their support for
same-sex marriage, by voting for the Respect for Marriage Act.
169
Republicans voted against the bill.
Four
Republicans did not vote on the legislation, and one Republican voted
Present.
The House
passed the bill,
258 to 169, on Dec. 8, 2022.
After both the
House and Senate approved the bill, President Biden signed the
Respect for Marriage Act into law.
Votes in
favor of Reproductive Rights
Gonzalez voted in favor of the Women’s
Health Protection Act, which would have overturned state abortion
bans by establishing a right to abortion under federal law.
219 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted in favor of the legislation.
209
Republicans, and one Democrat, Henry Cuellar, voted against the bill.
Two
Republicans did not vote on the legislation.
The House
passed the bill,
219 to 210, on July 15, 2022.
I read the
text of an earlier version of the Women’s
Health Protection Act on Primary
Sources, a video series where I discussed the laws, legislation,
and Supreme Court decisions behind important public policy stories.
The series
featured four videos on abortion rights and one video on the federal
eviction moratorium during the COVID pandemic.
Gonzalez also voted
in favor of the Right
to Contraception Act, a bill that would protect access to
contraception.
220 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and eight Republicans, voted in favor of the
bill.
195
Republicans voted against the legislation.
Six
Republicans did not vote on the bill, and two Republicans voted
Present.
The House
passed the bill,
228 to 195, on July 21, 2022.
The
legislation did not receive a vote in the Senate.
To recap, in
July 2022, Gonzalez voted in favor of reproductive rights by voting
in favor of abortion rights and access to contraception.
Votes to
Impeach Trump
Gonzalez voted
to impeach President Trump for inciting
the Jan. 6 insurrection to attack Congress to overturn the outcome of
the 2020 presidential election.
222 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and 10 Republicans, voted to impeach Trump.
197
Republicans voted against impeaching Trump.
Four
Republicans did not vote on the resolution.
The House
impeached Trump,
232 to 197, on Jan. 13, 2021.
57 Senators
voted
to convict Trump on Feb. 13, 2021, after his Senate Trial, and 43
Senators voted against.
The Senate did
not reach the 67 votes necessary,
to achieve the 2/3 majority required,
to convict Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Gonzalez voted
in favor of impeaching President Trump, for both Abuse
of Power and Obstruction
of Congress, on Dec. 18, 2019, during Trump’s first
impeachment, for withholding
military aid to Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate
Joe and Hunter Biden, which would benefit
Trump in the 2020 presidential campaign.
This table
shows how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, and Jared Golden voted on
each Article of Impeachment during Trump’s First Impeachment in
2019.
Votes for
Biden’s Economic Agenda
Gonzalez voted
for the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and
the Inflation Reduction Act.
These laws
were key elements of President Joe Biden’s Economic Agenda.
Each of these
laws were passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.
Gonzalez voted
for the American Rescue Plan.
The law
extended unemployment benefits, provided emergency rental assistance,
expanded food stamp benefits, expanded the child tax credit, and
provided funding to cities and states to replace tax revenue lost due
to the pandemic, according to the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The law also provided
$1,400 checks to Americans making $75,000 or less per year.
220 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted in favor of the legislation.
210
Republicans, and one Democrat, Jared Golden (Maine-2), voted against
the bill.
One
Republican, Thomas Tiffany (WI-7), did not vote on the legislation.
The House
approved the bill,
220 to 211, on March 10, 2021.
Gonzalez voted
in favor of the Invest in America Act, which is also known as the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Invest in America Act
provided
funding for roads, bridges, public transit, broadband internet,
and other infrastructure projects.
215 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and 13 Republicans, voted in favor of the
legislation.
200
Republicans, and six Democrats, voted against the bill.
The House
approved the
legislation, 228 to 206, on Nov. 5, 2021.
220 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted in favor of the bill.
207
Republicans voted against the legislation.
Four
Republicans did not vote on the bill.
The House
approved the
legislation, 220 to 207, on Aug. 12, 2022.
Supported
Student Loan Debt Relief
In August
2022, the Biden administration announced
a student loan debt relief plan to provide up to $20,000 of student
loan debt relief for qualifying borrowers.
Republicans in
Congress attempted to block
the student loan debt relief plan.
Gonzalez voted
against the Republican bill.
By voting
against blocking student loan debt relief, Gonzalez essentially voted
in favor of allowing Student Loan Debt Relief, which means he voted
the right way.
216
Republicans and two Democrats, Jared Golden (Maine-2) and Marie
Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), voted to block student loan debt relief.
203 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted against blocking student loan debt relief.
Eight
Democrats and six Republicans did not vote on the bill.
The House
passed the bill,
218 to 203, on May 24, 2023.
The Senate
approved
the bill, which was subsequently vetoed
by President Biden.
The bill
failed
to receive the required 2/3 majority in the House necessary to
override the veto.
In the House, both Golden
and Gluesenkamp Perez voted
to override Biden’s veto.
The Senate did
not vote on whether to override the president’s veto.
On June 30,
2023, the US Supreme Court struck
down the student loan forgiveness program.
Approved
Military Aid for Ukraine and Israel
Gonzalez voted
in favor of military aid for both Ukraine and Israel.
On April 20,
2024, the House voted separately on components of a bill that
provided military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
This allowed
voters to see how members of Congress would vote on these topics,
when considered separately.
I support
Ukraine in its righteous fight against Russia’s aggressive military
invasion of their country.
Therefore, I
support the US providing military aid to Ukraine, in its fight
against Russian aggression.
210 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted in favor of military aid to Ukraine.
Three
Democrats did not vote on the measure.
101
Republicans voted in favor of military aid to Ukraine, and 112
Republicans voted against.
Four
Republicans did not vote on the measure, and one Republican voted
Present.
The House
approved the
measure, 311 to 112, on April 20, 2024.
This table
shows how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie
Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared Golden voted on key issues in the House
in 2023 and 2024.
During this
time, Republicans controlled the House, Democrats controlled the
Senate, and Joe Biden was president.
I do not
support providing military aid to Israel.
I believe by
April 2024, the horrors of the human rights abuses committed by
Israel during its war in Gaza should have been apparent to anyone
paying attention.
Therefore, I
believe members of Congress should have voted against military aid to
Israel at that time.
I wrote an
editorial
in July 2024 about the abuses committed by Israel during its war in
Gaza.
173 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, voted in favor of military aid to Israel, and 37
voted against.
Three
Democrats did not vote on the measure.
193
Republicans voted in favor of military aid to Israel, and 21 voted
against.
Four
Republicans did not vote on the measure.
The House
approved the
measure, 366 to 58, on April 20, 2024.
The Senate
subsequently approved
military aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Gonzalez voted
against the Big
Ugly Bill, which cuts taxes for the rich, cuts Medicaid funding
for the poor, and increases funding for ICE (Immigration and Customs
Enforcement).
212 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and two Republicans voted against the Big Ugly
Bill.
The two
Republicans who voted against the bill were Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) and Thomas Massie (KY-4).
218
Republicans voted in favor of the Big Ugly Bill.
The House
approved
the bill, 218 to 214, on July 3, 2025.
The bill was
approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President
Donald Trump.
This table
shows how Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, Don Davis, Marie
Gluesenkamp Perez, and Jared Golden voted on key issues in the House
in 2025 and 2026.
During this
time, Republicans held majorities in both the House and Senate, under
President Donald Trump.
Supports NPR
& PBS
Gonzalez voted
against cutting funding for NPR and PBS.
President
Trump submitted a bill to Congress to cancel funding previously
approved by Congress.
The measure
was called the Rescissions Act of 2025.
The Rescissions
Act suspended
all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,
which funds NPR, PBS, and their member stations, for the next two
fiscal years.
211 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, and two Republicans, voted against the Rescissions
Act.
The two
Republicans who voted against the measure were Brian Fitzpatrick
(PA-1) and Michael Turner (OH-10).
216
Republicans voted in favor of the Act.
Two
Republicans and one Democrat did not vote on the proposal.
The House
approved
the Rescissions Act, 216 to 213, on July 18, 2025.
Both chambers
of Congress approved the Rescissions Act, and President Trump signed
it into law.
The Rescissions
Act ended
all federal support for NPR, PBS, and their member stations.
So if you
value your local public radio and television stations, consider
making a donation, if you can afford it.
Supports
releasing the Epstein Files
Gonzalez
supports releasing files held by the Department of Justice related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Gonzalez
signed a discharge petition to bring the Epstein Files Transparency
Act to the House floor for a vote, and he voted in favor of the bill
once the vote was held.
The Epstein
Files Transparency Act requires the US Attorney General to
publish all unclassified records, documents, communications, and
investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the
investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.
The Act allows
the Attorney General to redact personally identifiable information
about victims contained in the files.
214 Democrats,
including Gonzalez, signed a discharge
petition to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.
Four
Republicans signed the discharge petition as well. They were Thomas
Massie (KY-4), Nancy Mace (SC-1), Lauren Boebert (CO-4), and Marjorie
Taylor Greene (GA-14).
The effort was
led by Ro Khanna (CA-17) and Thomas Massie.
After
obtaining the required 218 signatures, the Epstein Files Transparency
Act received a vote in the House.
Gonzalez voted
in favor of the bill.
216
Republicans and 211 Democrats, including Gonzalez, voted in favor of
the bill.
One
Republican, Clay Higgins (LA-3), voted against the bill.
Three
Democrats and two Republicans did not vote on the legislation.
The House
approved the
bill, 427 to 1, on Nov. 18, 2025.
The Senate
approved
the bill, without amendment by unanimous consent, and President Trump
signed the bill into law.
Progressive
Primary Challenger
Vicente
Gonzalez has a progressive primary challenger in his South Texas
District.
On his
campaign website,
Etienne Rosas declares that Latino communities are being ignored,
exploited, and criminalized.
“We’re up
against a real fascist threat – one that scapegoats Latinos,
militarizes our border and cities, and hands unchecked power to
billionaires, while working families are left behind,” Rosas wrote.
“Our
representatives have failed to meet this moment with the urgency it
deserves.”
Rosas said
these challenges create the conditions for people to build a better
future.
“This is
also a moment of possibility – a chance for us to come
together and fight for a South Texas, and a nation, that finally
lives up to its promises: freedom, justice, representation, and
dignity for all,” Rosas
continued (emphasis in
original).
“This
campaign isn’t about me. It’s about building a vibrant,
grassroots movement from the RGV (Rio Grande Valley) to DC – rooted
in the resilience, pride, and power of our people.”
Rosas
supports Medicare for All, a $20 minimum wage and four-day workweek,
rent control and affordable housing, universal childcare and
tuition-free college, protecting immigrants and abolishing ICE, and
taxing billionaires.
A
screenshot of the priorities listed on Etienne Rosas’s campaign
website.
On
his campaign
website, Gonzalez says he supports fully funding pre-k and local
Head Start programs, helping college students graduate debt free, tuition-free higher learning for the first two years after high school, expanding social security to keep up with inflation, strengthening
Medicare, expanding Medicaid, strengthening trade along the Texas-Mexico border, and
investing in infrastructure.
On
immigration, Gonzalez says he supports combating criminal elements crossing the border with smart and thoughtful border security, compassionate immigration
reform with a pathway to earned citizenship, and passing the
DREAM Act, a bill that would provide
legal status and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
brought to the US as children, who meet certain requirements.
In
the immigration section of his campaign website, Gonzalez does not
take a position on whether to abolish ICE.
Etienne
Rosas is one of the Democrats you can support through the Democratic
Victory Fund, which raises money for Democrats in important
races, nationwide.
You can also
support Ricardo
Villarreal, one of Henry Cuellar’s Democratic primary
challengers, through the Democratic Victory Fund.
Texas will
hold its 2026 primary elections on Tuesday, March 3.
Conclusion
While I am
quite fond of Vicente Gonzalez’s progressive primary challenger,
Etienne Rosas, I imagine Gonzalez will likely win his primary
election next week.
If Gonzalez
wins his primary, he will undoubtedly be better than whoever wins the
Republican nomination for his district.
Before we bid
adieu, let’s summarize what we’ve learned about Gonzalez from his
time in Congress.
Gonzalez
supports El Salvador’s Authoritarian Leader Nayib Bukele.
Gonzalez voted
against trans rights, by voting for a nationwide gender-affirming
healthcare ban for transgender youth, and for a nationwide
transgender sports ban.
He voted in
favor of LGBT rights, by voting for the Equality Act, and in favor of
gay marriage, by voting for the Respect for Marriage Act.
Gonzalez voted
in favor of reproductive rights by voting for bills that would
protect access to abortion and contraception.
Gonzalez voted
to impeach Trump three times, for blackmailing Ukraine, obstructing
Congress, and inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Gonzalez voted
for the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and
the Inflation Reduction Act, all of which were key parts of President
Biden’s Economic Agenda.
He supported
student loan forgiveness, and voted for military aid for both Ukraine
and Israel.
Gonzales
opposed the Big Ugly Bill, which cut taxes for the rich, cut Medicaid
funding for the poor, and increased funding for ICE.
Gonzalez voted
against cuts to NPR and PBS, and he voted in favor of releasing the
Epstein Files.
While I
dislike Gonzalez’s support for Bukele, his votes against trans
rights, and his support for military aid for Israel, there can be no
denying that Gonzalez has been on the right side of a lot of
important issues during his time in Congress.
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