House hopeful Bill Flores dodged a question at a meet-and-greet in Hill County on Tuesday about whether he would support the GOP’s leader in the House, according to a recording from the event.

In the audio — first obtained by The Washington Post and attributed to an unnamed Democratic source — a man at the event asked the Bryan Republican how he felt “about (John) Boehner, the minority leader in the House.”

“Next question,” said Flores, who’s facing Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, in one of the most closely watched House races in the country.

Republican Bill Flores (left) is challenging U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, in the fall.

Flores added, “I really don’t want to talk about anybody today. I’ve got a race to run.”

Flores campaign manager Matt Mackowiak argued the recording was of minimal significance.

“All this audio shows is that Bill Flores is focused on winning the congressional race in front of him and that Edwards’ campaign is so afraid and desperate that they are smuggling in recording devices to Flores’ town-hall meetings,” Mackowiak said.

Mackowiak said that “Bill Flores will never vote Nancy Pelosi for Speaker.”

The Post article muses that Flores’ demurral may be seized on by Democrats as a sign that Republican congressional leaders are unpopular on the campaign trail, just like Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Matt Angle, a Texas Democratic strategist based in Washington, offered a different take. He asserted the significance is that Flores comes off as gun-shy when it comes to taking positions.

Instead of responding, Angle said, “Flores was trying to calculate the best political answer.”

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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