Meet The Candidates: Gretel Enck For Texas Congressional District 23
A border district, a public servant, and a very big map.
This series is called Meet The Candidates. Over the next eleven months, I’ll spotlight a handful of Democratic races each month, mainly in the Legislature and in Congress. These aren’t endorsements. They’re introductions, a way to understand who’s running, the districts they hope to represent, and what’s at stake for people across Texas.
Note: Beginning in January and through the rest of the primary season, I’ll publish two Meet the Candidate articles each Sunday.
Who is Gretel Enck?
Gretel Enck’s commitment to public service didn’t start on the campaign trail. It began in a family shaped by modest farms, first-generation college educations, and the expectation that you pull your weight and look out for your neighbors. She grew up with forests at her doorstep, animals to care for, and the steady rhythm of rural life.
That foundation carried Enck into 25 years with the National Park Service, where she worked across some of the most iconic and fragile landscapes in the country, from Alaska to Death Valley, and later at Manzanar National Historic Site. At Manzanar, Japanese American families entrusted her with stories of incarceration and loss, and she helped ensure those histories were preserved honestly, even as politicians elsewhere pushed to sanitize or erase them.
After retiring in early 2025, Enck didn’t step away from service. In Marfa, she became deeply involved in preserving the history of the Blackwell School, a former segregated school for Mexican American children, helping elevate a community’s story from local memory to national recognition. She’s running for office now because she’s seen what happens when public services are hollowed out and when leaders abandon their responsibility to the people they serve.
The district.
Yeah, that’s like 1/5 of Texas, and it includes parts of El Paso and Bexar Counties. I like to call it Texas’ left hand. TX23 is the giant border district. It’s one of those seats where “community” is basically a dozen different regions stitched together, including military families, suburban SA, ranch counties, border trade hubs, and huge rural areas.
This district is heavily Hispanic, 56.9%, with the Anglo population making up a minority, 30.5%. While a Republican won this district last election by roughly +25 points, Republicans’ popularity with Hispanic voters is in the shitter right now, and that may hurt the incumbent in this district next year.
On the other hand, Harlan Crow’s group plans to spend millions of dollars in border communities to turn or keep them red, so there may be a lot of push and pull to flip this district.
In TX23, for 2026, Democrats should be targeting young Latinos, working families, and precinct-level engagement. They’ll have to use local bilingual messaging about cost of living, healthcare, veterans and military families, and water and land.
The incumbent.
Back when I was still active on Twitter, Tony Gonzales (R-TX23) blocked me on both his personal account and his official account because I said his response to gun violence in the wake of the Uvalde massacre was weak and cowardly. I stand by that statement (also, we boycott Twitter because of Elon).
There’s something else, more recent, that deserves the attention of TX23 voters. Gonzales’ staffer committed suicide by self-immolation a few months ago. Rumors online and in the far-right corners of the internet pointed to an affair between the staffer and Gonzales; Gonzales has since denied them.
Of course, Gonzales also has a history of calling his fellow Republicans “scumbags” and “klansmen.”
In fact, I can’t tell you a lot about what Tony Gonzales has done in Congress, because scandal seems to follow him everywhere he goes, and every time he opens his mouth. He’s a Trumper, that’s the extent of who he is, and he lives a messy life.
Please note that Gretel Enck will also have primary challengers.
In Gretel Enck’s own words.
Below are some questions I asked Enck, based on previous reader polls, along with her answers.
Q: Do you support a Green New Deal or similar large-scale federal climate action plan?
Yes, I do. I have a Master’s in Environmental Policy and worked with the National Park Service for many years, so I am well versed in the issues of climate change. In my district, I will be particularly keen on how we job train and take care of workers as we transition to renewable energy.
Q: Do you support federal student debt cancellation and tuition-free public college?
Yes, I support debt cancellation. I would like to provide two tuition-free years of post-high school education to everyone, whether at a community college, a public 4-year college, or a trade/vocational/apprentice education.
Q: Should Congress codify the right to abortion nationwide and repeal the Hyde Amendment?
Yes, and invest more money in family planning and reproductive healthcare in general to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in the first place.
Q: Do you support ending U.S. military aid to countries with ongoing human rights abuses, including Israel and Egypt?
This is too broad a question to answer definitively because I do support providing defensive systems, but do not support providing offensive aid. I also believe that we use such defense aid as bargaining for ending human rights abuses.
Q: Should the U.S. demilitarize the southern border and repeal harmful immigration policies?
I support Escobar's Dignity Act, which is a combination of Border Security and pathways to immigration. I support fast-tracking citizenship for DACA recipients. And ICE needs to be decommissioned or given a different role.
Bonus Question: What does being a Democrat mean to you in 2026?
Working together with all my neighbors to take back our country and prioritize the well-being of the rest of us. Standing up for the value and dignity of all Americans. Democracy, common ground, common good.
TX23 is one of the most misunderstood districts in the country.
Pundits reduce it to a talking point about the border. At the same time, the people who live there deal with the same things everyone else does, rising costs, fragile healthcare access, aging infrastructure, and a government that only shows up when it wants to score political points. This district needs competence, credibility, and leaders who understand how public service actually works.
Gretel Enck is running as someone who has spent her career protecting people, places, and truth, even when doing so wasn’t politically convenient. She’s not new to hard systems, underfunded agencies, or communities fighting to be heard. Whether that translates into a win will depend on turnout, organizing, and whether Democrats are willing to invest seriously in border districts instead of writing them off as permanent Republican territory.
This race is worth watching. I’ll be tracking this race as the primary unfolds, including Enck’s challengers, and keeping an eye on how both parties choose to engage the people who actually live in Texas’ left hand.
You can learn more about Gretel Enck on her website, Facebook, or Instagram.
February 2, 2026: Last Day to Register to Vote
February 17, 2026: First Day to Early Vote
March 3, 2026: Primary Election
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She called me, and I spoke to her, she is amazing. I definitely think she is the best one to beat him!
Thank you, Michelle! Just shared on Bsky. She sounds great!!! (still have family visiting)