Bam Morales
Bam Morales (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 34th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.[source]
Morales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Bam Morales was born in Brownsville, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Homer Hanna High School and attended the University of Texas at Brownsville. His career experience includes working as a law enforcement officer.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3, 2026, Republican primary for Texas' 34th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Ten candidates are running in the Republican primary for Texas' 34th Congressional District on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025. Three candidates lead in media attention and fundraising: Eric Flores (R), Mayra Flores (R), and Scott Mandel (R).
Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) is running for re-election in the Democratic primary. He was first elected to the district in 2022, defeating incumbent Mayra Flores 53% to 44%. Flores was first elected to the district in the June 2022 special election, receiving 51% of the vote. Flores advanced from the 2024 Republican primary for the district and faced Gonzalez in the 2024 general election, which Gonzalez won 51% to 49%.
Following Texas' 2025 congressional redistricting, Marijke Friedman of The Texas Tribune wrote that the new map "gives Republicans better odds to capture Gonzalez's South Texas district."[2]
Eric Flores (no relation to Mayra Flores) is a lawyer and veteran of the U.S. Army and Texas Army National Guard.[3] He previously served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.[3] Flores is campaigning on his legal experience, saying he "led landmark prosecutions of cartel-connected and human trafficking operations" and worked on cases "defending municipalities and school districts across Texas."[3] He says he would work to secure the country's borders while supporting legal immigration.[4][5] Highlighting his military experience, Flores says he provided border security for Texas with the National Guard and that he would address veterans' issues.[3][4]
Mayra Flores previously served as the representative for Texas' 34th Congressional District from 2022 to 2023. She is campaigning on her legislative experience "proudly [serving] South Texas on the Homeland Security and Agriculture Committees."[6] She says she would focus on family issues and "put parents back in the driver seat [to] protect kids from those who wish to push their views on our families."[7] Highlighting her experience immigrating to the United States from Mexico, Flores says, "We must secure our border to keep bad individuals out and to encourage legal immigration."[7]
Mandel is a former law enforcement officer and business owner.[8] Mandel is campaigning on his business's work in the security industry, saying he has "hands-on experience in border security operations" and that he would support "a full border shutdown once and for all."[9] Mandel says he would grow the economy by reducing regulations and decreasing government spending, and he says he has seen "the systems causing much of the waste and inefficiencies" through his business's government contracts.[9] Mandel says he would address veterans' issues and support changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs.[9]
Also running in the primary are Keith Allen (R), Luis Buentello (R), Mauro Garza (R), Fred Hinojosa (R), Gregory Kunkle Jr. (R), Bam Morales (R), and Jay Nagy (R).
As of November 2025, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball each rated the general election Lean Republican, and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rated the general election a Toss-up.
To review how redistricting took place in Texas in 2025, click here. For a list of all states that drew new district lines between 2024 and 2026, click here.
Elections
2026
See also: Texas' 34th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House Texas District 34
Eddie Espinoza is running in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 34 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Eddie Espinoza (G) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 34
Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. and Etienne Rosas are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 34 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Vicente Gonzalez Jr. | |
 | Etienne Rosas | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 34
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 34 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Keith Allen | |
 | Luis Buentello | |
 | Eric Flores | |
 | Mayra Flores | |
 | Mauro Garza | |
| Fred Hinojosa | ||
 | Gregory Kunkle Jr. | |
 | Scott Mandel | |
 | Bam Morales | |
 | Jay Nagy | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
Candidate spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Allen | Republican Party | $114,514 | $86,811 | $28,648 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Luis Buentello | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Eric Flores | Republican Party | $550,479 | $113,400 | $437,079 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Mayra Flores | Republican Party | $754,552 | $609,370 | $148,010 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Mauro Garza | Republican Party | $12,502 | $12,659 | $0 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Fred Hinojosa | Republican Party | $156 | $6 | $150 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Gregory Kunkle Jr. | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Scott Mandel | Republican Party | $1,000,000 | $0 | $1,000,135 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Bam Morales | Republican Party | $16,335 | $16,335 | $0 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Jay Nagy | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[10][11][12]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bam Morales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Morales' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Veterans have served in numerous treacherous environments overseas — with some paying the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of our homeland, our homes, and our children. As a decorated Army Ranger and veteran, Bam Morales understands the complex needs of his fellow veterans. He will fight tirelessly in Congress to ensure they receive the full support they rightfully deserve.
- As a family man and small business owner, Bam Morales comprehends the challenges created by rising costs and oppressive regulations. Daily, our small business owners face unnecessary obstacles. In Congress, Bam will fight for tax incentives to stimulate small business growth, job creation, and economic prosperity for our community's backbone.
- As a pastor, Bam’s faith will serve as a guiding light, moral compass, and companion in Washington. Likewise, it will ensure that his service is based on the principles of Christianity: compassion, integrity, service, and accountability.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 23, 2025
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores switches districts to challenge Rep. Vicente Gonzalez for third time," August 27, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Eric Flores 2026 campaign website, "About Eric," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Eric Flores 2026 campaign website, "Priorities," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "GOP Army veteran announces challenge to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in South Texas congressional district," July 21, 2025
- ↑ Mayra Flores 2026 campaign website, "Meet Mayra," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mayra Flores 2026 campaign website, "Commonsense Texas Solutions," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ [https://www.mandelfortexas.com/about Scott Mandel 2026 campaign website, "Meet Scott Mandel," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Scott Mandel 2026 campaign website, "Our Issues Together as Texans," accessed November 10, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
