AUSTIN, Texas — Brandon Herrera has secured the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District after incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales withdrew from the race following mounting pressure from Republican leadership.
Herrera, a San Antonio–based firearms manufacturer and online personality known as the “AK Guy,” finished first in the Republican primary with 43.3% of the vote, while Gonzales placed second with about 41.7% in the four-candidate contest.
Because no candidate won a majority, the race had been scheduled for a May 26, 2026 runoff. Gonzales’ withdrawal, however, effectively gives Herrera the nomination by default.
In a statement on X, Herrera thanked Gonzales for stepping aside and said he was ready to campaign for the seat in November.
“I appreciate Tony Gonzales for making the appropriate decision,” Herrera wrote. “I look forward to being the voice of TX-23 that our district deserves.”
Gonzales’ campaign had been overshadowed by allegations of an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died after setting herself on fire. Gonzales had initially denied the allegations but admitted to the relationship in early March following the publication of explicit text messages by the San Antonio Express-News.
The same day Gonzales acknowledged the relationship, the U.S. House Ethics Committee opened an investigation.
Top House Republicans, including Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer and Lisa McClain, publicly urged Gonzales to withdraw from the race.
Texas’ 23rd Congressional District spans a vast region of South and West Texas, stretching from San Antonio along the U.S.–Mexico border toward El Paso. Gonzales had represented the district since 2021 and developed a reputation as a moderate Republican, including supporting a bipartisan gun safety law after the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Herrera, who nearly defeated Gonzales in the 2023 Republican primary, campaigned this year as a more conservative alternative, criticizing the congressman’s votes on gun legislation and other issues.
The YouTuber, whose firearms-focused channel has nearly 4.2 million subscribers, has also faced scrutiny over past online content featuring jokes about Nazi imagery and World War II German weapons. Herrera has defended the material as satire and historical commentary.
Democrats see the controversy as a potential vulnerability in the general election. Herrera will face Democratic nominee Katy Padilla Stout, an attorney and former teacher who serves on the Bexar County Child Welfare Board.
Stout has centered her campaign on expanding health care access, protecting reproductive rights and addressing economic inequality in the district.
The general election for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
