Democrat Rep. Vincente Gonzalez's campaign paid $1,200 to a Texas blogger who went on the attack against Republican opponent Rep. Mayra Flores, NBC News reported.
NBC said The McHale Report blog was paid the money June 24 for "advertising purposes," according to the Democrat’s Federal Election Commission finance report.
However, the blog has referred to Flores and "Miss Frijoles" 21 times since then without publishing a Gonzalez ad, according to NBC News. It has also referred to her as a "cotton-pickin' liar."
Flores tweeted on Monday: "My far left opponent, Vincent Gonzalez, hired a local blogger to run hateful & racist ads against me! But, I love frijoles & I grew up eating frijoles. I am not embarrassed of my upbringings & frijoles w/tortillas de harina is simply the best."
Gonzalez and blogger Jerry McHale maintained the payment wasn't compensation for attacking Flores. They claim the timing of the attacks was coincidental and said the congressman didn’t pay for them, know about them, or have any control over them.
"Of course, the congressman is against referring to Rep. Flores as 'Miss Frijoles' or a 'cotton-picking liar,' " Gonzalez’s campaign manager, Collin Steele, wrote in a text message to NBC News.
But McHale told NBC News: "I am a liberal Democrat. And it's war against the Republican ... I'm going to be merciless with her."
Meanwhile, Flores told Newsmax on July 7 that The New York Times incorrectly labeled her and other Hispanic Americans as ''far-right" in a recent news article because the paper is ''anti-God, anti-family values, and anti-job opportunities."
''They do not represent our values, and that's the reason why they want to call me a far-right Latina," the Texas congresswoman said during an interview on ''The Chris Salcedo Show."
Flores is seeking reelection in November in a newly drawn Texas district. She will face Gonzalez and two independents in November.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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