Election 2026

Independent, source-first accountability

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Issue record

Money in politics

In short

Flores's and Gonzalez's campaigns list no position on the pages checked. Royal said in 2024 that officials caught taking under-the-table money or stock tips should be barred from government; Espinoza's campaign rejects all PAC money. Flores's first report shows $300,479.29 in contributions, short of the $440,000 his campaign said it raised in five weeks. PAC filings show no payments to Espinoza, whose FEC notes say he raised under $5,000; he has filed no full report.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Eric Flores

No position on campaign finance or lobbying was found on his campaign site.

Vicente Gonzalez

No position on campaign finance or lobbying was found on his campaign site, whose issues page does not include the subject.

Chris Royal

His current site does not address it. In his 2024 survey he said officials caught taking money under the table or stock tips should be barred from future government work.

Eddie Espinoza

His campaign says he rejects support from all political action committees, takes no corporate PAC money, would overturn Citizens United, and opposes lobbying by unregistered foreign agents.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. official action

    Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

    Federal PAC filings show no payment to his campaign, and his FEC notes say he has raised under $5,000, though he has filed no full report of his money.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    His campaign says he rejects support from all political action committees, including AIPAC and its allies, and takes no corporate PAC money. His committee, Espinoza for Texas, has filed no report of receipts and disbursements. It has filed four notes to the FEC instead, on January 29, March 25, April 11 and July 12, 2026, each saying the campaign had not reached the $5,000 at which a report is required. A search of every federal committee's itemized disbursements for 2025-2026 returns no payment to his committee. Limit: Two records point the same way: his own statements that he has raised less than $5,000, and the absence of any PAC's report of giving to him. A federal PAC must itemize a contribution to a candidate however small, so the second is the stronger. Neither reaches a state or unregistered group, and neither is a filed statement of where his money came from, because he has filed none.

  2. official action

    Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

    His campaign's release of August 29, 2025 says it raised over $440,000 during the campaign's first five weeks. His committee's first report covers July 1 to September 30, 2025, which takes in the five weeks and six more. It reports $300,479.29 of contributions for the whole quarter, no transfers, and $250,000 in loans from him, for $550,479.29 of total receipts. Of the loans, $100,000 is dated July 31 and $150,000 September 5, a week after the release. Contributions itemized after August 29 come to $94,757.65. Two nominee funds that now carry his name were set up in December 2024 and January 2025 as funds for whoever won the Republican nomination: one reported $7,767.57 of receipts for July to September, the other $12,850.48 for July to December. His committee listed no joint fundraising committee until January 30, 2026. Limit: The FEC does not date contributions under $200, so the exact amount raised by August 29 cannot be read. It does not need to be: every contribution of the quarter falls $139,520.71 short of the figure. Adding the only loan made before the release and both nominee funds' receipts still leaves about $19,000 short, though the second fund's figure runs to December and neither fund was his campaign's until March 2026. The figure can be reached only by counting money his committee did not have by that date.

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Sources18 source records

How we use sources

  1. Prioritieshttps://www.ericflores.com/priorities

    Eric Flores for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Eight subjects: South Texas and the Coastal Bend, the cost of living, infrastructure, water, veterans, seniors, farmers and ranchers, and small business. There is no section on health care, education or the border, though the home page lists securing the border among his priorities.

    candidate statement

    For: Eric Flores: campaign position

  2. Campaign home pagehttps://www.ericflores.com/

    Eric Flores for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source; the page carries "PAID FOR BY ERIC FLORES FOR CONGRESS" and is the website his committee filed with the FEC. It links an X account, @EricDFloress, an Instagram account, @eric4texas, and a Facebook page.

    candidate statement

    For: Eric Flores: campaign position

  3. Issueshttps://vicentegonzalez.com/issues/

    Vicente Gonzalez for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Seven subjects: affordability, seniors, women's rights, education, veterans, health care and jobs. It states goals rather than proposals, and names no bill. There is no section on the border, energy or campaign finance.

    candidate statement

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: campaign position

  4. Chris Royal for Congresshttps://chriscongress.com/

    Chris Royal for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    A one-page site built on a website builder, much of it marked under construction. It carries no paid-for line, so it was identified by its name, its Libertarian content and its closing request to vote for Chris Royal in November; it is the address search results give for his campaign. It links no social account. Read September 23, 2026.

    candidate statement

    For: Chris Royal: campaign position

  5. Chris Royalhttps://ballotpedia.org/Chris_Royal

    Ballotpedia · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Carries his own answers to Ballotpedia's candidate survey, given in 2024 when he was running for this seat as an independent. They are his words but they are two years old, and he was not on the 2024 general-election ballot. Used for his biography and for positions where his current site says nothing, each marked with its year. The page lists a personal Facebook account.

    candidate statement

    For: Chris Royal: campaign position

  6. Espinoza For Congress, homehttps://espinoza4tx.com/

    Espinoza For Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    A WordPress site with no paid-for line. It was identified as his by the address the Green Party of Texas gives for his campaign and by the committee email on his FEC statement of organization, espinoza4tx. It links X, Facebook and Instagram accounts under Espinoza4TX. The page contrasts him with his opponents; that material is out of scope here.

    candidate statement

    For: Eddie Espinoza: campaign position; Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  7. ESPINOZA FOR TEXAS, filingshttps://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00919688/?tab=filings

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Five filings: a statement of organization on September 13, 2025 and four miscellaneous submissions, on January 29, March 25, April 11 and July 12, 2026. There is no report of receipts and disbursements. An OpenFEC search of every federal committee's itemized disbursements for 2025-2026 returned no payment to this committee.

    fec filing

    For: Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  8. ESPINOZA FOR TEXAS, Form 99 of January 29, 2026 (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Its text: "We didn't raise $5,000 by December 31, 2025". The committee lists him as its treasurer.

    fec filing

    For: Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  9. ESPINOZA FOR TEXAS, Form 99 of March 25, 2026 (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Its text: the campaign has not met the $5000 reporting threshold.

    fec filing

    For: Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  10. ESPINOZA FOR TEXAS, Form 99 of April 11, 2026 (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Its text: the committee has not met the $5,000 reporting threshold.

    fec filing

    For: Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  11. ESPINOZA FOR TEXAS, Form 99 of July 12, 2026 (document)

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Its text: campaign fundraising is under the $5000 threshold for reporting. Filed in the week July quarterly reports were due.

    fec filing

    For: Eddie Espinoza: Matches stated record claim

  12. Republican Eric Flores Raises $440,000 in Five Weeks (document)

    Eric Flores for Congress · Published Aug 29, 2025 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign press release dated August 29, 2025, a PDF linked from the campaign's news page and carrying its paid-for line. It says the campaign raised over $440,000 during its first five weeks, and quotes him: "I committed to running for District 34 before the map changed." The verifier reads both sentences from the PDF's text layer (checks flores-release-440k and flores-release-map-quote, pinned to the file's SHA-256 5f04aedfcb6efea4bc82300bc4ecdbbaa7996fa5897cdf239dbd77e9297ceff4).

    candidate statement

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  13. Newshttps://www.ericflores.com/news

    Eric Flores for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled index of press releases, most of them PDFs, and outside articles. Twenty-three releases from July 25, 2025 to August 26, 2026 were read. Most of their content is about his opponent and is out of scope here.

    candidate statement

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  14. ERIC FLORES FOR CONGRESS, October Quarterly 2025https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00912246/1921555/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The committee's first report, covering July 1 to September 30, 2025, filed October 15, 2025 and not amended. Line 6(a), total contributions other than loans: $300,479.29. Line 13(a), loans made by the candidate: $250,000. Total receipts: $550,479.29. OpenFEC's itemized rows date the loans July 31 ($100,000) and September 5 ($150,000), and date $94,757.65 of itemized contributions after August 29.

    fec filing

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  15. ERIC FLORES FOR CONGRESS-GTM NOMINEE FUND: TX-34, filingshttps://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00894550/?tab=filings

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    A fund registered in December 2024 as GTM Nominee Fund: TX-34, before Flores was a candidate, to hold money for the district's eventual Republican nominee, a committee supporting more than one candidate (Form 1 of March 31, 2025, file 1889737). A Form 1 amendment of March 10, 2026 (file 1952757) made it a committee authorized by Flores and gave it his name. It reported $7,767.57 of receipts for July 1 to September 30, 2025, and transferred $102,674.25 to his campaign on March 16, 2026, after the primary.

    fec filing

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  16. FLORES FOR TX-34 REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FUND 2026, filingshttps://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00895136/?tab=filings

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Registered on January 9, 2025 as TX-34 Republican Nominee Fund 2026, a committee supporting more than one federal candidate (Form 1, file 1862331). Its year-end report (file 1937486) covers July 1 to December 31, 2025 and shows $12,850.48 of receipts, all transfers from other committees. A Form 1 amendment of March 12, 2026 (file 1952815) renamed it and made it a committee authorized by Eric Flores.

    fec filing

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  17. ERIC FLORES FOR CONGRESS, Statement of Organization, July 16, 2025https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00912246/1903949/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The committee's original Form 1. Affiliated committees: none. The committee's next Form 1, of January 30, 2026 (file 1939775), is the first to list a joint fundraising representative, Defend Our Majority (C00895821); OpenFEC lists no Form 1 between the two.

    fec filing

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim

  18. ERIC FLORES FOR CONGRESS, amended Statement of Organization, January 30, 2026https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00912246/1939775/

    Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    First amendment to the committee's Form 1. Lists Defend Our Majority (C00895821) as joint fundraising representative.

    fec filing

    For: Eric Flores: Record does not bear out the claim