San Antonio, TX – A new poll taken August 15th and 16th by polling firm OnMessage Inc. shows Francisco Canseco holding a 43% to 37% over incumbent Congressman Ciro Rodriguez. The poll surveyed 400 likely voters who were stratified by county to reflect historic turnout patterns. The margin of error is +/‐ 4.9%.

Also of note regarding the political environment

• The economy remains the most important issue to the voters of the 23rd District ticking up two points from May (48%) to stand at 50%. • The generic congressional ballot has jumped from a 5 point advantage for Republicans in May to a 17 point advantage in August. This current trajectory spells real trouble for Democrat incumbent Ciro Rodriguez.

• By a margin of 66% to 27% the voters overwhelmingly feel that the country is currently headed down the wrong track. This represents a 9 point increase since May.

• By voter intensity Canseco holds a significant advantage. Canseco wins the ballot among those who say they are definitely going to vote (77% of the survey) by a margin of 47% to 35%. Canseco has increased his lead among “definite” voters from 5 points in May to 12 points now.

• Not only has Rodriguez’s support eroded with Hispanics, but when we look at ticketsplitters (those who say they vote for a mix of Republicans and Democrats), we find that in May, Rodriguez enjoyed 58% of their votes to Canseco’s 31%, and now, in August, he is essentially tied with Canseco among this important demographic (35%/34%).

“I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support as I campaign across Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. Every day I meet with voters at town hall meetings, at their kitchen tables, on the phone and at their door. The voters are asking for new leadership, someone with common sense values who will be a strong check and balance against Nancy Pelosi and her liberal agenda in Washington. In 71 days we have the opportunity to change our leadership. It is time to send small business experience to Congress so we can balance our budget, stop the out-of-control spending and end the vast expansion of the federal government that Ciro Rodriguez has supported during his entire career as a Washington insider,” Canseco said.

San Antonio, TX ––Republican candidate Francisco Canseco today announced that he outraised his opponent, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez for the second quarter of 2010.  Canseco raised $207,989.12 over that period, beating Ciro Rodriguez’s $168,026.15, by nearly $40,000.  In terms of individual donations, Canseco outraised Rodriguez 4-to-1.

“This was a decisive quarter for our campaign.  We garnered far more support from Texans in the district than Ciro Rodriguez,” said Canseco Campaign Manager Scott Yeldell.  “That outpouring of support proves that our message of limited government, strong border security and listening to constituents is resonating throughout our constituency. Rodriguez’s poor showing among individual Texas supporters calls into question who Ciro really represents – Washington outsiders or the people of Texas.”

Canseco began the quarter with $28,632.17 cash on hand and, after a primary and run-off, the people of the 23^rd congressional district lined up behind Canseco in a hurry to help him close out the quarter at $453,370.52 cash on hand.

“The facts here speak for themselves, Francisco Canseco has broad support from across Southwest Texas; Ciro’s supporters are out-of-district liberals and Washington insiders.” Scott Yeldell said.  

Breakdowns from Wednesday’s FEC reports:

·        - 85% of total contributions for Canseco are from individual contributors in the Texas 23^rd Congressional District

·        - A shockingly low 15% of Ciro’s contributions are from individuals in the Texas 23^rd District

·        - 66% of Rodriguez’s money comes from PAC’s, not individuals 

At a townhall event on Monday July 5^th, while answering a routine question about ObamaCare, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez responded with hostility and anger at a constituent.  The video can be seen here, http://biggovernment.com/mikeflynn/2010/07/12/democrats-gone-wild-rep-ciro-rodriguez-loses-it/. 

“Ciro Rodriguez has a history of cursing and yelling at people who disagree with him. It shows how much contempt he has for the people of this district and their concerns about the economy, exploding federal deficits, and reckless government growth.” Canseco said.

This is not the first time Rep. Ciro Rodriguez has lost his temper while answering questions from constituents.  He has gone so far as to curse in front of children while at townhall meetings in the past.  That video can be seen here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyFAyQZ2g7U. 

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This past week Members of Congress, including Ciro Rodriguez, were at home for the Memorial Day Congressional recess.  Members of Congress traditionally take this time to meet with constituents, listen to their concerns, and address issues important to the area.

But Ciro Rodriguez held Zero town halls.  Zero public events.  Ciro gave Zero opportunities for you to let him know your thoughts about the direction of our country.  What is he afraid of?

Put Simply, Ciro Rodriguez is afraid of you. 

If he were to have held an open forum or Town Hall Meeting, he knows he would have to answer for his votes to:

·         Vastly increase government spending – even though you opposed it;

·         Enact a government takeover of America’s doctors, hospitals, and health care – even though you opposed it;

·         Weaken our border security and make it more difficult to stop violence from spreading across Southwest Texas – even though you want our families and communities protected.

Ciro is not representing us.  Ciro won’t listen to you and it is time to make him accountable for that behavior. 

This November speak as loud as you can by removing him from office.  We can do that together, but I am going to need your help!

We have six months to talk to voters and let them know how there is a better, more common-sense way forward for our district and our nation. 

You can join with us TODAY to help ensure we take back our government – you can help RIGHT NOW by:

·         Supporting our daily effort to contact voters with a generous donation of $25, $50, or $100;

·         Becoming a Member of the $23 for 23 team and donating $23 on the 23^rd of every month; or

·         Volunteering your time to walk precincts and make voter contact calls.

It’s time to throw out Ciro and elect a representative who will hold Town Hall Meetings so he can hear from you and ACCURATELY REPRESENT YOUR CONCERNS IN CONGRESS.  It’s time for a leader with fiscal responsibility and limited government values.  If you haven’t already joined our team, please consider joining our effort today!

By Francisco Canseco, Republican Nominee for the 23rd District of Texas

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be an American frontiersman, you’ve now got that opportunity in modern times. Just move to Hudspeth County along the Texas-Mexico border and follow Sheriff Arvin West’s advice, “Arm yourself.”

Nearly two weeks ago, I met with the Sheriff, border patrol and customs agents, and farmers and ranchers who are all on a high state of alert. What I learned, what I heard, and what I saw was nothing short of shocking.

Located 50 miles East of El Paso (and the butcher shop that was once Ciudad Juarez), Fort Hancock, Texas rests on a stretch of the Rio Grande where the river is rarely more than a foot deep. Wide open and easily traversable high desert expands for miles but is readily accessible using a highway on the Mexican side and Texas Highway 20 on the U.S. side. Simply put, ideal for narco-trafficking and human smugglers – and they know it.

This area of the border, and the families who live here, is valiantly protected by 17 officers of the Sheriff’s Department (including the Sheriff himself) and even fewer border and customs agents. For about fourteen miles there is a 25 foot high wall. Fourteen miles, that is all. Smugglers and drug traffickers simply go around it and onto the land of farmers and ranchers.

Certainly the lack of a continuous and effective border wall is an insult to the people who live here and the wasted taxpayer dollars this fourteen mile farce represents. But, it is by no means the worst, most egregious example of how faulty Washington policy-making results in zero border security.

The border patrol agents are too few to cover this vast area. They are out gunned, out manned, and lack basic equipment like night-vision goggles (tip to Congress, drug smugglers work at night).The reality is they regularly borrow night-vision equipment and, sometimes, ammunition from the farmers and ranchers.

These same farmers and ranchers showed me video, shot at night, of heavily armed drug runners confidently crossing their property. . .invading American soil.

When our border agents have only half loaded 9mm side arms, they can hardly be blamed for not engaging the murderers who are crossing into our country. Given their strict rules of engagement, I was told, the agents themselves wonder “If I pull this trigger, am I going to be thrown in jail.” 

It is an absolute outrage that these agents aren’t emboldened, encouraged, and empowered to act in defense of our country.

But, at least they have around 25 new patrol vehicles and a brand new office building. The problem is, they don’t use the vehicles or the office because there are too few of them to do so – their time is needed patrolling.

Instead of an office building, these brave men are asking for more help, more agents, a detention center, a completed wall, or support from the military. The empty building and unused vehicles stand as a stark and perfect example of how nonsensical Washington spending does not meet the real border security needs of our country.

The frontiersmen and women of Hudspeth County are cut from tough stock. They are brave. They are determined. But they are also afraid. 

Although it went unsaid, they are wondering, will it take them or their children being wounded or killed before Congress stops dithering and takes serious, meaningful measures to protect them, their families, and America’s sovereign soil?

America deserves a Congress with the courage and common sense to meet its Constitutional duty of protecting our country. We need military assistance, real barriers, and more agents with the right equipment and weapons before it becomes a wide open season on our border residents.

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Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in 2009 Texas lost 276,000 jobs, second only to California.

Throughout 2009 Ciro Rodriguez has blindly supported Nancy Pelosi's massive spending bills that have driven our national debt into unprecedented levels while ignoring the skyrocketing unemployment numbers right here in Texas. Ciro and his liberal masters in Washington have proven time and again that they simply do not understand or care about our economy and are solely focused on a liberal agenda to socialize our health care and further grow an already bloated federal government. 

San Antonio, TX - It has become increasingly difficult to keep track of the broken promises of the Obama Administration, but when it comes to the promise of transparency, Obama and the democrats in congress have broken their pledge to keep the doors open during all health care negotiations. 

Now today you and I are forced to sit back and wait to see what atrocities are being put into the Obama/Pelosi health care bill.  First it was a $300 Million Louisiana Purchase of Senator Mary Landrieu, then Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and the Cornhusker Kickback, both behind closed doors. Finally last week the powerful union bosses all gathered behind closed doors at the White House and were given a tax break on their health care plans that non-union workers are not eligible to receive. 

Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women Political Action Committee (CWPAC) has announced its endorsement of Quico Canseco for Congress in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District.

Concerned Women PAC is affiliated with Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with more than 500,000 grassroots members nationwide.