HARLINGEN—Vice President JD Vance rallied Republicans in South Texas on Wednesday, touting the Trump administration’s record on the border and economy while urging voters to send Republican Eric Flores to Congress.
Vance spoke before a packed ballroom at the Harlingen Convention Center as part of a midterm push in South Texas, where Flores is challenging Democrat U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in the 34th Congressional District.
“Our mandate here is simple,” Vance told the crowd. “We’ve got to fight for the people who sent us to Washington, D.C.—not for the fraudsters, not for the career politicians, not for Wall Street, not for anybody but the people that we answer to.”
Vance praised Flores, a former federal prosecutor and Army officer, as a “true son of the Rio Grande Valley” and highlighted his work on border security.
The vice president argued the Trump administration has made significant progress since returning to office, pointing to border security, falling crime, manufacturing investment, and efforts to bring jobs back from overseas.
“For my entire life, I saw my neighbors lose their jobs. I saw jobs get sent overseas. I saw factories close down. I saw people laid off,” Vance said. “But you know what we’ve been doing in the Trump administration? We’ve been saying that it’s time for big American corporations to invest right here in America.”
Earlier in the day, Vance joined Gov. Greg Abbott at the groundbreaking of Saronic’s Port Alpha shipyard in Brownsville.
The company plans to invest more than $3 billion in the 835-acre facility, which is expected to create up to 10,000 direct jobs and manufacture autonomous vessels for the U.S. Navy and allied nations. Vance pointed to the project as an example of the administration’s efforts to rebuild American manufacturing.
“What that means to me as a kid who grew up in a working-class family, that’s tens of thousands of kids in South Texas whose lives are going to be better and more dignified,” said Vance.
Vance also acknowledged that some voters are frustrated with the pace of the administration’s agenda.
“I know that there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress as we dig out of that hole,” he said. “Look, sometimes I’m frustrated with it.”
“Hell, for starters, I wish Congress—particularly the Senate—would have passed the SAVE America Act,” he added.
Vance then turned his attention to Gonzalez, accusing the Democrat incumbent of opposing the administration’s tax policies and failing to adequately represent South Texas during his time in Washington.
“He’s had his chance for a decade in Washington, D.C., and he hasn’t done anything with it,” said Vance. “So let’s send him back home.”
Vance tied his argument to his own working-class upbringing, telling attendees that South Texas reminded him of communities he grew up around that he said had been “left behind and ignored” by leaders in Washington.
“I’ve never been here before in my life, but driving through these streets, I feel a special connection to this place,” said Vance. “It reminds me of my life in so many ways—a place with beautiful people, incredible talent and potential.”
He argued that political divisions have been used to keep working-class Americans focused on their differences rather than their shared economic interests.
“They want us distracted, focused on the small differences between each other,” Vance said.
“For so long, whether they had an R next to their name or a D next to their name, the powers that be in this country, from Washington to Wall Street, have gotten richer while our communities have gotten poorer,” he added.
Vance also took aim at Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, devoting several minutes of his remarks to the state representative’s record and public discussion of his Christian faith.
“James Talarico is a completely, profoundly unserious person,” said Vance.
Vance criticized Talarico over his statements about gender and religion, including his description of God as nonbinary.
“His real religion is not about Jesus,” Vance said. “His real religion is about the radical left in this country.”
“A man who wears your religion as a cover will never fight for your values,” he added.
The rally also featured Texas Comptroller Don Huffines, as well as U.S. Reps. Nathaniel Moran and Brandon Gill. President Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to visit a Peterbilt facility in Denton on Thursday, before holding a rally just across the state line in Durant, Oklahoma.
