Republicans will still have a nominee in Texas’s 23rd District haunted by controversy after Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announced he would end his reelection bid on Thursday night.
Democrats have been quick to resurface the statements that can be found on Brandon Herrera’s YouTube channel, including Nazi references and a mention of his gun as the “original ghetto blaster.” Herrera, a Second Amendment activist with more than 4 million YouTube followers, is expected to be the GOP nominee for the district represented by Gonzales, who withdrew under pressure from House Republican leadership over an affair scandal.
“Herrera has made less than helpful comments in the past that will come back to haunt him, no doubt,” one senior Texas GOP campaign operative told the Washington Examiner. “All in all, I do think he gets it done, but it’s going to require him to stay disciplined and push a positive vision voters respond to for the next several months.”
Herrera can expect scrutiny over videos in which he is seen goose-stepping and touting his copies of Adolph Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf,” as well as a video that included a friend doing a Nazi salute. Each has been highlighted by House Majority PAC, a Democratic outside group, in recent days.
Video shows Mike Johnson’s candidate in #TX23 Brandon Herrera goose-stepping to Nazi marching song “Erika” https://t.co/XMxj2X9BCp pic.twitter.com/4y2Ceaj6nG
— House Majority PAC (@HouseMajPAC) March 5, 2026
In response, Herrera suggested the goose-stepping video was a joke.
“I standby it, this shit was funny as hell,” he said on X.
He also denied that he is a neo-Nazi, as Gonzales once claimed when the two ran against each other in 2024. It was at that time that his controversial statements began to surface.
“This should be obvious, but I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi,” Herrera posted in 2024.
House leadership has yet to announce if they will support Herrera in the general election, even as more conservative House Republicans and the Freedom Caucus Fund endorse him. But he will get the GOP nomination after Gonzales, his runoff opponent, announced his retirement due to an affair with a staffer who later died by setting herself on fire.
Herrera beat Gonzales in Tuesday night’s GOP primary with 43.3% of the vote and Gonzales at 41.7%, but it was not enough to get him to the 50% needed to avoid a runoff prior to Gonzales’s retirement announcement.
Democrats have argued that Herrera’s controversial comments, plus a lack of incumbency in the race, have turned Gonzales’s seat into a pickup opportunity, despite the Cook Political Report labeling it “Solid Republican.”
“Brandon Herrera’s nomination is a gift to Democrats and a full-blown crisis for Republican leadership and the NRCC,” House Majority PAC spokeswoman Katarina Flicker told the Washington Examiner. “Herrera is an antisemitic YouTuber with a record that’s far outside the mainstream, and his candidacy creates a clear opening for Democrats in November. Now the NRCC and Speaker Mike Johnson are aligning themselves with his extremism, and it could cost them TX-23 this fall.”
Republicans have been quick to brush off Democrats’ newfound bullishness over the seat.
“This is a safe Republican seat that Democrats probably only had a shot at if Tony Gonzales had won the run-off and stayed in the race,” Republican strategist Dennis Lennox told the Washington Examiner. “Herrera is another Lauren Boebert — someone who will cosplay and who will likely face a serious primary challenge from a Hispanic Republican in 2028.”
Without a bruising runoff, Herrera will have more time and money to devote to the general election against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout.
TONY GONZALES DROPS HIS 2026 BID AFTER ADMITTING AFFAIR WITH LATE STAFFER
“Texas’ 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “While they talk a big game in Washington, they don’t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here. In November, voters will once again elect a Republican who will secure the border, lower costs, and stand up for Texas families.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Herrera and House leadership for comment.