Not just Tony Gonzales: Brandon Herrera dogged by controversy in Texas House race
Trust is earned, not demanded.
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”
— 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 …
Trust is earned, not demanded.
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”
— 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 …
Not just Tony Gonzales: Brandon Herrera dogged by controversy in Texas House race
Trust is earned, not demanded.
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”
— 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 …
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