A billboard in Brownsville, Texas, featuring Republican congressional candidate Eric Flores so closely resembles his campaign ads it could be one of his campaign posters.
Except unlike his campaign posters, it prominently features an endorsement by and photo of Flores with President Donald Trump, which Democrats are now accusing Flores of trying to bury. The billboard also touts his “support” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In an Oct. 12 cease-and-desist letter obtained by The Washington Sun, attorney Eric Wang, who represents the Flores campaign, demanded that Lamar Advertising of the Rio Grande Valley, the billboard company that put it up, immediately remove the digital billboard.
Wang alleged in the cease-and-desist letter that the advertisement is designed to confuse voters into believing it is an official campaign message.
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“The Billboard intentionally mimics the distinctive look of our client’s campaign signs and other materials to cause voter confusion,” the letter states. “The Billboard’s intent to deceive voters is unmistakable.”
The letter says the sign “fraudulently purports to be on behalf of” the Flores campaign. Across the bottom, it says it was paid for by the campaign of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez — the incumbent Democratic lawmaker running for reelection in the battleground district.
Trump did back Flores in December, saying he has his “complete and total endorsement” in a Truth Social post.
The cease-and-desist letter names the Northern Cameron County Democrats as the group that paid for the billboard, even though the billboard says it was paid for by Gonzalez’s campaign. NCC Democrats did not respond to a request for comment.
Lamar Advertising did not respond to a request for comment about the letter. The Gonzalez campaign told The Sun that as of Friday, the billboard is still up.
Flores’ campaign confirmed the authenticity of the cease-and-desist letter but disputed that it had anything to do with the Trump endorsement or the listed support of ICE.
“Vicente Gonzalez is a practiced scammer who has been running a con on South Texas voters for years. This billboard is just the most recent example,” Matt Brownfield, a campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. “It is designed, on purpose, to cause people to think that it comes from the Flores Campaign. It is deceptive on its face. It is a scam.”
The letter does not explicitly dispute that Trump endorsed Flores or that Flores supports ICE. The legal argument in the letter focuses on the billboard’s appearance and the possibility that voters could mistake it for an advertisement authorized by the Flores campaign.
The Texas Observer reported earlier this month that Flores’ campaign signs no longer prominently advertise Trump’s endorsement like they did during the primary. Instead, Flores campaign materials emphasize his biography and professional background.
That’s part of a broader trend of Republicans purging their campaign materials of mentions of Trump across the country, where GOP candidates are coping with the administration’s low approval ratings and affordability issues.
It also comes as candidates compete for voters in a South Texas congressional district where immigration, border security and the president’s political standing are prominent issues. The district was redrawn after Trump captured the majority of the vote in the district in the 2024 election, making it one of the most competitive districts in the country.
Gonzalez’s campaign accused Flores of attempting to distance himself from positions he had previously embraced.
“Eric Flores proudly bragged about his Trump endorsement during the primary. Now he’s ashamed and is trying to distance himself from the President and the hyperaggressive ICE raids devastating our economy, but voters see right through his charade and deserve to know the truth,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “If Eric truly feels this billboard is misleading, he should’ve met Congressman Gonzalez on the debate stage to explain his positions to voters. Instead, he walked away at the last minute because he couldn’t bend the rules in his favor.”
Like Gonzalez’s campaign, BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, characterized the cease-and-desist letter as trying to hide the endorsement.
“Eric Flores bragged about Trump’s endorsement until South Texas saw what it cost them: higher prices and ICE in our neighborhoods,” Valeria Ojeda-Avitia, a spokesperson for BOLD PAC, said in a statement. “Now he’s paying lawyers to hide it.”
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