The Dallas Morning News
September 7, 2023
WASHINGTON – Mayra Flores, a South Texas Republican who served in Congress for just over six months after a special election last year, has an unusual fundraising message as she tries to regain a House seat.
“I was attacked by a pervert,” say emails she’s been blasting nearly every day this summer to would-be supporters. “My opponent hired a twisted left-wing pervert to attack me and sexually degrade me.”
She’s referring to Jerry McHale, a longtime liberal blogger in Brownsville whose attacks gained national attention after Flores cried foul in July 2022.
WASHINGTON – Mayra Flores, a South Texas Republican who served in Congress for just over six months after a special election last year, has an unusual fundraising message as she tries to regain a House seat.
“I was attacked by a pervert,” say emails she’s been blasting nearly every day this summer to would-be supporters. “My opponent hired a twisted left-wing pervert to attack me and sexually degrade me.”
She’s referring to Jerry McHale, a longtime liberal blogger in Brownsville whose attacks gained national attention after Flores cried foul in July 2022.
That was during a hotly contested fight with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a McAllen Democrat who’d paid McHale for what his campaign described as advertising.
No ads ever appeared on the blog, but McHale did unleash a series of posts that questioned how a conservative could be a genuine Latina, calling Flores “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchiladas” and using sexually crude language.
Gonzalez, who defeated her in November, condemned McHale’s “offensive” descriptions at the time and insisted he had nothing to do with them.
Flores first called McHale a pervert in July 2022, telling Fox News Digital: “Vicente Gonzalez is an example of everything that’s wrong with Washington. He doesn’t have a record to stand on, so he hires a pervert to attack me.”
McHale’s attacks have continued as Flores seeks a 2024 rematch, which she announced two months ago.
She pointed to “discriminatory” and “racist” content McHale has posted on his Facebook page. “Don’t confuse Mayra ‘Menudo’ Flores with Pozole!!!” McHale wrote last week, comparing Flores to different Mexican dishes.
“It’s something that I have to continue to endure,” Flores told The Dallas Morning News by phone. “It’s a very hard time for conservative Latina women. We’re attacked not just because of our faith but also our gender.”
The Gonzalez campaign declined to comment.
McHale, who retired a few years ago as a teacher with the Brownsville school district, did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent via email and direct messages on social media.
Jared Hockema, Democratic Party chair in Cameron County, which includes Brownsville, said McHale is known in South Texas as relentless and abrasive. His posts about local political figures often include crude and vulgar references.
“He writes horrible things about anybody,” said Hockema.
Flores began sending the emails shortly after she announced her comeback bid on July 11 on Fox News. Recipients have received a version of it dozens of times.
The emails don’t identify her attacker, or elaborate on or link to any of the comments. Both Flores and an aide said it refers to McHale.
“Pervert” – someone whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and abhorrent – isn’t a term frequently seen in political ads.
But while it’s an especially inflammatory term, said James Riddlesperger, a Texas Christian University political scientist, “The acceptable range of rhetoric that we use and the way we characterize our political opponents has become much more rancid.”
“It grabs people’s attention... If you don’t use flagrant language, you can’t get attention anymore,” said Kendall Scudder, a consultant with Armadilla Strategies, which works with Dallas County Democrats.
Christopher Nicholas, a Republican consultant in Pennsylvania, surmised the word has been effective since Flores keeps using it.
“The reason you want to use incendiary language is to cut through the clutter in someone’s email box,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, you move on to something else… But if what you’re doing works, you expand it because it’s making money.”
Flores, a respiratory therapist, became the first Latina Republican sent to Congress by Texas when she won a special election to replace Democrat Filemon Vela, who’d resigned soon after winning a fifth term.
Flipping that district was a major victory for Republicans, who’d been gaining ground in South Texas but had never before held a congressional seat along the border.
Five months later, Gonzalez defeated her by 9 percentage points.
He’d given up a neighboring seat the Legislature had turned into a Republican bastion when it redrew maps after the 2020 Census. That district snakes from McAllen, at the border, to the east side of San Antonio. Freshman Rep. Monica De La Cruz won that seat, becoming Texas’ second Latina Republican in Congress and the first to win a full term.
Hispanics made up about 85 percent of his current district, which takes in Harlingen and Brownsville and runs north along the Gulf Coast almost to Corpus Christi.
The Gonzalez campaign paid McHale $1,000 in October 2021 and $1,200 in June 2022 for “advertising services,” according to Federal Election Commission reports.
The first mentions of Flores on McHale’s blog surfaced three days after the June payment, NBC News reported the next month.
NBC found no sign of Gonzalez ads on McHale’s blog. Flores tweeted the same month that the blog has no designated space for ads.
To back up its contention that McHale is a “pervert,” the Flores campaign pointed to lewd comments referring to spending a night with Flores and comparing female genitalia to rotten oyster bar food.
Her emails to donors omit such details.
“We highlight this in some of Mayra’s fundraising materials not only because it’s true, but because donors are motivated to help when they see what Mayra is up against as a conservative Hispanic woman who is willing to stand up for her beliefs,” said a Flores adviser, Paul Smith.
After McHale referred to her as “Miss Frijoles 2022,” her initial tack was to both denounce the taunt and play along.
She called the label "hateful and racist" in a tweet that included a screenshot of his blog entry, adding that “I love frijoles and I grew up eating frijoles. I am not embarrassed of my upbringings and frijoles with tortillas de harina is simply the best. Here’s to Miss Frijoles 2022.”
Frijoles – beans – are a staple in Latino cuisine.
There were other taunts.
McHale referred to her as a “cotton pickin’ liar” – questioning that she worked in cotton fields as a child with her immigrant parents.
He refused to apologize, telling NBC News, “I’m a liberal Democrat and it’s war against the Republican… I’m going to be merciless with her.”
Gonzalez distanced himself when the comments surfaced.
“We advertise on many platforms and have no control over their editorial content,” he tweeted in July 2022. “We do not pay for political attacks and we will not be advertising on this platform again.”
In a comment on that tweet, a GOP media strategist pointed out holes in the defense: How could Gonzalez “advertise” on a blog that includes no ads? And why would he buy ads directly with a blogger rather than through the campaign’s ad agency?
Gonzalez’s statement continued: “We condemn the offensive remarks… just as we have condemned Donald Trump’s racist rants calling Mexicans rapists and murderers. If only Rep. Flores had the courage to do the same.”
Flores contends McHale is not the lone wolf the congressman has made him out to be.
“Local Democrats have empowered him and continue to hire him,” she said.
Hockema, the Cameron County party chair, denies that.
“We have absolutely nothing to do with him,” he said.
No ads ever appeared on the blog, but McHale did unleash a series of posts that questioned how a conservative could be a genuine Latina, calling Flores “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchiladas” and using sexually crude language.
Gonzalez, who defeated her in November, condemned McHale’s “offensive” descriptions at the time and insisted he had nothing to do with them.
Flores first called McHale a pervert in July 2022, telling Fox News Digital: “Vicente Gonzalez is an example of everything that’s wrong with Washington. He doesn’t have a record to stand on, so he hires a pervert to attack me.”
McHale’s attacks have continued as Flores seeks a 2024 rematch, which she announced two months ago.
She pointed to “discriminatory” and “racist” content McHale has posted on his Facebook page. “Don’t confuse Mayra ‘Menudo’ Flores with Pozole!!!” McHale wrote last week, comparing Flores to different Mexican dishes.
“It’s something that I have to continue to endure,” Flores told The Dallas Morning News by phone. “It’s a very hard time for conservative Latina women. We’re attacked not just because of our faith but also our gender.”
The Gonzalez campaign declined to comment.
McHale, who retired a few years ago as a teacher with the Brownsville school district, did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent via email and direct messages on social media.
Jared Hockema, Democratic Party chair in Cameron County, which includes Brownsville, said McHale is known in South Texas as relentless and abrasive. His posts about local political figures often include crude and vulgar references.
“He writes horrible things about anybody,” said Hockema.
Flores began sending the emails shortly after she announced her comeback bid on July 11 on Fox News. Recipients have received a version of it dozens of times.
The emails don’t identify her attacker, or elaborate on or link to any of the comments. Both Flores and an aide said it refers to McHale.
“Pervert” – someone whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and abhorrent – isn’t a term frequently seen in political ads.
But while it’s an especially inflammatory term, said James Riddlesperger, a Texas Christian University political scientist, “The acceptable range of rhetoric that we use and the way we characterize our political opponents has become much more rancid.”
“It grabs people’s attention... If you don’t use flagrant language, you can’t get attention anymore,” said Kendall Scudder, a consultant with Armadilla Strategies, which works with Dallas County Democrats.
Christopher Nicholas, a Republican consultant in Pennsylvania, surmised the word has been effective since Flores keeps using it.
“The reason you want to use incendiary language is to cut through the clutter in someone’s email box,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, you move on to something else… But if what you’re doing works, you expand it because it’s making money.”
Flores, a respiratory therapist, became the first Latina Republican sent to Congress by Texas when she won a special election to replace Democrat Filemon Vela, who’d resigned soon after winning a fifth term.
Flipping that district was a major victory for Republicans, who’d been gaining ground in South Texas but had never before held a congressional seat along the border.
Five months later, Gonzalez defeated her by 9 percentage points.
He’d given up a neighboring seat the Legislature had turned into a Republican bastion when it redrew maps after the 2020 Census. That district snakes from McAllen, at the border, to the east side of San Antonio. Freshman Rep. Monica De La Cruz won that seat, becoming Texas’ second Latina Republican in Congress and the first to win a full term.
Hispanics made up about 85 percent of his current district, which takes in Harlingen and Brownsville and runs north along the Gulf Coast almost to Corpus Christi.
The Gonzalez campaign paid McHale $1,000 in October 2021 and $1,200 in June 2022 for “advertising services,” according to Federal Election Commission reports.
The first mentions of Flores on McHale’s blog surfaced three days after the June payment, NBC News reported the next month.
NBC found no sign of Gonzalez ads on McHale’s blog. Flores tweeted the same month that the blog has no designated space for ads.
To back up its contention that McHale is a “pervert,” the Flores campaign pointed to lewd comments referring to spending a night with Flores and comparing female genitalia to rotten oyster bar food.
Her emails to donors omit such details.
“We highlight this in some of Mayra’s fundraising materials not only because it’s true, but because donors are motivated to help when they see what Mayra is up against as a conservative Hispanic woman who is willing to stand up for her beliefs,” said a Flores adviser, Paul Smith.
After McHale referred to her as “Miss Frijoles 2022,” her initial tack was to both denounce the taunt and play along.
She called the label "hateful and racist" in a tweet that included a screenshot of his blog entry, adding that “I love frijoles and I grew up eating frijoles. I am not embarrassed of my upbringings and frijoles with tortillas de harina is simply the best. Here’s to Miss Frijoles 2022.”
Frijoles – beans – are a staple in Latino cuisine.
There were other taunts.
McHale referred to her as a “cotton pickin’ liar” – questioning that she worked in cotton fields as a child with her immigrant parents.
He refused to apologize, telling NBC News, “I’m a liberal Democrat and it’s war against the Republican… I’m going to be merciless with her.”
Gonzalez distanced himself when the comments surfaced.
“We advertise on many platforms and have no control over their editorial content,” he tweeted in July 2022. “We do not pay for political attacks and we will not be advertising on this platform again.”
In a comment on that tweet, a GOP media strategist pointed out holes in the defense: How could Gonzalez “advertise” on a blog that includes no ads? And why would he buy ads directly with a blogger rather than through the campaign’s ad agency?
Gonzalez’s statement continued: “We condemn the offensive remarks… just as we have condemned Donald Trump’s racist rants calling Mexicans rapists and murderers. If only Rep. Flores had the courage to do the same.”
Flores contends McHale is not the lone wolf the congressman has made him out to be.
“Local Democrats have empowered him and continue to hire him,” she said.
Hockema, the Cameron County party chair, denies that.
“We have absolutely nothing to do with him,” he said.
29 comments:
Ho hum
You give El Paya Jerry McHale too much credit. He's just an old fuck now. What - 74 years old and no car, no house.
Looks it too. Wrinkled, bald, thinning fuckup.
Go Mayra!!!
I am a voter. I find El Paya crude and vulgar. I didn't vote for Miss Hambergos because I didn't agree with her politics. To me if she did not have a plan on how to protect her children, see video of Pelosi pushing her daughter, how could I ever expect her to care for the voters? The Lady appears to be only out for herself. "Damn my family and voters." Appears to be her mantra. Actions speak louder than words. The devil is in the details. No, gracias.
How selective you are. Cyndi Hinojosa also paid McHale and her husband lied to NBC when he said he never heard of McHale. And Benavides pays him while turning a blind eye is a very sick pervert. Jared lies. The Democrats keep him going. If you pay McHale you are a racist. You can hide this fact for your friends, but Myra will still get it out.
hot dog sucking gringo is a nobody here. forget about him the more you listen to this idiot the more he grows, make his disappear. Vete pal norte cul*, where you belong. Bland food eating bastard.
Wet brain syndrome.
You left out Vicente Contra La Gente. He is anti immigrant. He says he's not part of chain migration. He is, but from a couple of centuries back. Just like Filemamon Verga.
Jerry McHale:the most interesting man in the Rio Grande Valley.
Young: handsome, hardworking, dedicated to minority students and he taught them how to speak English correctly.
Mature: entered the political world, met all the important people and he was welcomed, ran for Mayor of Brownsville
Expert age: he calls it as he sees it, direct and touches on a subject that few dare: the carnivalesque: smells, odors, physical pains, goes against the accepted norms of society to create chaos. This is not accepted by most of society. Who wants to read about: stomach issues, ugly smells in the human body, etc Who wants to see pictures of naked people that are not beautiful? Who wants to read about our shortcomings when we attempt to be perfect?
Let us hope McHale explains all this literary genre that he uses so that he doesn't get in trouble with the politicians or with the law. McHale is not a pervert...he is just too much into writing and literature. He knows the power of words.
I had forgotten about that loser. I haven't visited that idiot's blog in years. He never had anything interesting. As a matter of fact he would copy and paste your stories Montoya.
Forget that loser! "He who is forgotten ceases to exist." It's that easy.
McHale is absolutely hideous. Alone, no car, no wife, no job, no life. He insults women because not one of them will have him. The most pitiful man in Brownsville. His drug and alcohol addictions have really taken a toll on his brain cells. Anyone who acknowledges anything he writes about people should be ashamed!
Fuck this limp noddle bitch, this CUCK should jump off a bridge. Everyone knows why they use him.
@10:57 AM
Thank you, Jerry.
(You call yourself a great writer cause no one else will!)
ja ja ja
What the article does not mention is who Mayra is. She is a young woman with no substance to her. She thinks she is special. SHE IS NOT!!! Yet she is as ignorant as can be. Arrogant, and clearly a narcissist. She has a following of people just like her.
She is also a liar. Hence she was called, la mentirosa. Lives out of the district in McAllen. Never picked cotton. Machines were around since the 1960's. She is very rude and told Nancy Pelosi that come November she would kick her %ss and you too Vincent referring to Vicente. Plus she is very far right. Gente say no to Mayra. She is not for the people. It is all about her. Imagine se cree la divina garza. If she wins she will think she is super women.
It's not good for the heart to live angry/bitter.
September 9,2023 at 12:27 PM
Evidently Mayra Flores acknowledges what El Paya has to say. I gather that she should be ashamed of herself. Vieja Shit for Brains.
LIKE MOST GAY MEN, HE HATES WOMEN.
She is fake like her lashes.
DICE LA MAYRA IF I DON'T WIN IN 2024 IT'S BECAUSE THE ELECTION IS RIGGED
NO THAT IS NOT IT, THERE ARE JUST NOT ENOUGH LAMBISCONES TO HELP YOU WIN.
EL VALLE ES DE LOS DEMOCRATAS.
Mayra Flores is giving McHale to much credit because she is in denial. She can't admit to herself that the voters did not want her. La pobre.
Vicente "Chingando La Gente" Gonzalez has properties all over the place. Even in Madrid, Spain. In the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, he listed the Bank of China on his financial reports. In 2022 after it was brought to his attention, he no longer reports that he has an account with the Bank of China. The guy is a RAT, a DemocRAT. Stupid people in the Valley vote for him because he gives you a chicken plate. They do not stay informed and research the candidates.
LAMBISCONES=cocos wanna be white mamones racist republicans anyquestions???
EL ROCINANTE IS A HAS BEEN AND MONTOYA WILL DIE SOON.
ERASMO AND ROMAN ARE THE ONES WHO WILL PICK UP THE SLACK.
PINCHE PUEBLO VALE PURA MIERDA.
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
- do you your thing McHale, call it like it is camarada! Great work to expose this fraud!
Mayra ain’t shit! She has literally done nothing, she puts her name on clean-ups that she doesn’t even show up to! That toxica needs to be slapped another Loss to remind her she is not (never was) congresswoman material, it’s already evident but I think Vicente will have to teach her a follow up lesson. Bye bye Mayra la mentirosa Que le gusta comer las Mosca’s!!!
Friendly Reminder Susan Rubelcava LOST her election!!!!! Hahahahahahaha hahahahahahahaha
La Mentirosa Mayra lost her election and husband!!!! hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Katy Presas tambien (toda loser) hahahahahahaa!!!!!!!! Todas las Mamonas!!!!! Hahahahahahaha
PURO PINCHE DEMOCRATS A LA VERGA!!!!!!!!
Hasta La Muerte!!!!!!
- El del Riverside
at 10:57
McHale is and has always been GROSS. 🤮 Yuck!
In the meskin tracdition there always has to be a gringo clown. We have our own, no vale madre, but we have our clown... gracias cockroach europe.
Yup, this guy knows time is running out. Talks out of his ass to get attention. This guy is about to kick the bucket, freaking geriatric. Demographics are changing he knows it. Dumbass doesn’t know when to walk away. Fucking HOBO.
clown funny!
YA dejen ese pinche gringo leave him alone. He deserves to be aaahhh never mind...
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