Ahead of the November elections, the San Antonio Report invited candidates to submit commentaries and share their points of view with voters. All commentaries are presented in their original form with minimal editing.
In the 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from western San Antonio to just outside of El Paso and includes more than 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico borderland, neither major party has a stronghold.
Before current U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Helotes) took office in 2015, the district had alternated between Democratic and Republican representatives, making the 23rd a true swing district. Hurd was elected for a second term in 2018, narrowly beating out Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones.
Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, is running for the seat again, this time against Republican Tony Gonzales, a former Navy cryptologist. Both candidates have highlighted their military backgrounds and stressed the importance of veterans services, but they have clashed over health care and their approaches to campaigning.
Follow the links below to read both candidates’ arguments for why they should represent the 23rd Congressional District.
