In 2024, Brandon Herrera, also known as the online personality The AK Guy, came very close to winning a runoff primary against Representative Tony Gonzales in the Texas Republican primary for District 23. The Texas Congressional District 23 extends over a vast, mostly rural area of west Texas. In the initial multi-candidate primary, Herrera won 24.6% of the vote. In the 2024 runoff, Herrera won 49.4% of the vote, very close to an upset victory. Texas District 23 is considered a “safe” Republican district. In the general election of 2024, Gonzales received 180,720 votes to Democratic candidate Santos Limon, who received 109,373 votes, according to Ballotpedia. Whoever wins the runoff Republican primary in 2026 is very likely to be the Republican Congressman in the House of Representatives from Texas District 23.
In 2026, Gonzales was embroiled in a scandal involving the suicide of a married woman staffer. Some racy texts were allegedly sent to her by Gonzales. In the initial primary in 2026, Herrera obtained about 1.6% more votes than Gonzales, in a field of four candidates. Kens5.com reported, as of 5:40 p.m. on March 4, 2026, these results:
- 43.33% Brandon Herrera 23,830 votes
- 41.73% Tony Gonzales 22,949 votes
- 8.49% Keith Barton 4,668 votes.
- 6.46% Francisco ‘Quito’ Canseco 3,551 votes.
There were about 55,000 total votes in the 2026 primary. It is close to the number cast in the 2024 primary race, about 57,600 votes. In the runoff primary election of 2024, fewer than 30,000 votes were cast. In the initial primary of 2024, Gonzales had 25,988 votes. In the initial 2024 primary, Herrera received 24.6% of the vote, or 14,201 votes. In the initial primary in 2026, Herrera almost doubled his vote total, while Gonzales dropped almost three thousand votes. If that dynamic holds for the 2026 runoff, Gonzalez is in trouble.
In the initial primary of 2024, 54.9% of the votes were against Tony Gonzales. In the initial primary of 2026, 58.3% of the votes were against Tony Gonzales. After the bruising in the initial runoff of 2026, the U.S. House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the allegations of an affair. From tpr.org:
The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas CD-23, following allegations involving his conduct toward a former staff member in his congressional office.
In a statement, the committee said it voted to create an investigative subcommittee to examine whether Gonzales may have violated the House Code of Official Conduct or other applicable rules.
According to the committee, the inquiry will focus on allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct involving an employee in his office and whether he may have unfairly granted special favors or privileges.
In a YouTube video with Joe Pags, Representative Tony Gonzales admitted to “making a mistake.”
Trump had previously endorsed Tony Gonzales, but on Friday, February 27th, before the primary, Gonzales’ name was conspicuously absent from Trump’s list of endorsements in the Texas primaries. From fox7austin.com:
Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, who pushed him to a runoff in the 2024 primaries. The two were separated by less than 400 votes in the runoff in 2024.
Trump has previously endorsed Gonzales, but during Friday’s flurry of endorsements, the congressman’s name and district were noticeably absent.
Ballotpedia shows Herrera with $868,569 in funds raised according to the Federal Elections Commission, as of February 11, 2026. According to the Texas Tribune, Herrera has raised 2.3 million in campaign funds as of March 4. The Tribune claims Herrera has more funds available than does Gonzales. According to San Antonio Today, Kyle Rittenhouse campaigned for Brandon Herrara in a door-knocking campaign on March 2, a day before the initial primary election.
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About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
