A retired Border Patrol supervisor has announced he is running for the 15th congressional district on a conservative Republican platform.
In a news release, Aizar Cavazos says he is running on a platform of border security, crime reduction and support for law enforcement and first responders.
“Cavazos is a strong advocate for teachers and school safety and believes that our kids are our greatest asset,” the release stated. “He also wants to cut taxes and eliminate wasteful spending and supports energy independence.”
Cavazos is a Weslaco native and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
“After completing his training at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Glynco, Georgia, Cavazos held a variety of critical positions in California, Arizona, Texas, and at the U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he attained a Top Secret Security Clearance,” the release said.
In 2016, Cavazos said he accepted a non-uniform temporary duty assignment with Border Patrol in Chiapas, Mexico, where he worked closely with Mexican immigration officials to provide training and conduct detainee interviews in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
In 2018, after nearly 25 years of service, Cavazos retired.
“Cavazos believes that our Constitution, our freedom, and our liberties are currently under attack by this administration and the progressive left agenda,” the release stated. “Cavazos feels that our greatest threat to our national security is the current crisis at the southern border and wants to go to Washington as your next Congressman to put the interests of the American people first and fight for all Texas District 15 constituents.”
He joins an increasingly busy Republican primary in a district that was recently redrawn to favor Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley, a longtime Democratic bastion that saw its first serious Republican challenge to that hold in 2020.
That’s when Monica De La Cruz, who is also running in the District 15 Republican primary, gave incumbent Vicente Gonzalez a run for his money by nearly beating him, with 47.6% of the vote to his 50.5% of the vote.
Redistricting has placed Gonzalez in District 34, where he is now running.
In addition to Cavazos and De La Cruz, Ryan Krause, a business man who ran against De La Cruz in the 2020 primary, and businessman Mauro Garza are also running in the 2022 Republican primary.
A fifth candidate, Frank McCaffrey, a former KRGV reporter, had initially announced he was also running in the District 15 Republican primary, but on Thursday announced he is running in District 34.
Thus far, the Democratic primary has drawn two candidates, including Eliza Alvarado, a director with the Region One Education Service Center and Ruben Ramirez, an Army veteran and civil attorney.
