When my family came to America from Mexico nearly a century ago, they could have never imagined that one day, one of their descendants — let alone, a woman — would run for Congress. But as my abuelo always said: "Mija, en este país todo es posible" (My girl, in this country, everything is possible). Grandpa Pablo, who served our country honorably in Vietnam, is now in the twilight of his years. As I hold his hand during our visits, I think about his life, my own journey, and his words echo through time.
I am the daughter of public school employees who worked her way through school taking orders at Peter Piper Pizza to become the first in my family to graduate from college. Next month, God willing, I will make history by becoming the first Latina to represent Texas’ 28th district in Congress. This is my American Dream and I am running for Congress to preserve it for all Americans.
The 956 is a special place, but we desperately need new leadership. I’ve lived here my whole life and cannot remember so many of my friends and neighbors wondering if their kids will have better lives than their own. Unfortunately, their concerns are not unfounded.
The working families that are the backbone of South Texas are needlessly struggling to pay rent, buy a home, and fill their tanks under the failed liberal policies of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and my opponent, Henry Cuellar, that have sent inflation skyrocketing.
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As the wife of a Border Patrol agent, I know all too well how the border crisis is hurting us as record numbers of drugs make their way into our country to poison our children. Yet, the Biden administration falsely assures us "the border is secure" while Cuellar opposes life-saving border infrastructure for our men and women in harm’s way.
South Texas families are also struggling to find basic healthcare. Four out of the nine counties in my community do not even have doctors. American women should never have to go to Mexico for OGBYN appointments or mammograms. As a woman with a pre-existing condition, this is not just a statistic; it is personal.
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Cuellar has been in office since I was in kindergarten (1987) and his party has controlled our region for over 100 years. They’ve had plenty of time to address these challenges. South Texans are good-hearted, but we are not gullible. We know they’re not suddenly going to start doing their jobs. Heck, Cuellar openly says the first thing he will do if he returns to Congress is stand with Nancy Pelosi.
The first thing I will do in Congress is stand with the people of South Texas, but to get there, we must recognize our community’s policy problems are not a coincidence. We have a profound crisis of leadership in Washington. Yes, Pelosi and the Biden administration are out-of-touch, but having a scandal-plagued congressman makes everything harder for us.
Cuellar claims our community’s growing concerns over his ethics issues are "personal," but the dark cloud hanging over his head casts a dark shadow over our entire community that impacts us all.
No South Texan can expect Cuellar to work with law enforcement agencies to hunt down drug cartels when those same agencies raided his home and office.
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It is bad enough that Cuellar voted with Biden and Pelosi for wasteful spending that Barack Obama’s own Treasury Secretary warned would make inflation much worse. How can Cuellar — who has somehow amassed a small fortune and a private plane while being on a taxpayer-funded salary since the 1980s — possibly understand families that are struggling in this economy when the only inflation he knows are his rising legal bills?
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We deserve so much better, but it is not merely enough for Republicans to criticize the failed Biden-Cuellar-Pelosi agenda. We must provide a sensible alternative. My American Dream Plan does just that:
- A Strong Economy for All: I will fight to bring good jobs to our community, keep taxes low, protect Social Security, and end the reckless spending driving inflation.
- Securing the Border: I will fight to secure the border and provide our Border Patrol with the infrastructure, technology, and personnel they need to protect us.
- Healthcare and Dignity: I will defend Medicare, Medicaid, and bring quality healthcare to South Texas. I will also oppose any effort to strip Americans of their healthcare.
- Ethical Leadership: Come January, when I place my hand on the Bible, I will swear an oath, not just to our Constitution, but to restore honor to this office.
The choice before South Texans is clear, but it is not merely a choice between Republicans versus Democrats. This is about right versus wrong and, ultimately, whether we have the courage to turn the page on decades of scandals and failed leadership to chart a better way forward.
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I know we can do it because, as my abuelo’s granddaughter, I will always believe in South Texas and the promise of America — where everything is possible.