Gonzales Under Ethics Investigation After Gun Rights Activist Brandon Herrera Forces Runoff

AmmoLand ^ | March 5, 2026 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

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.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: 23; 2a; banglist; herrera; tx

[marktwain]

Update: Tony Gonzales has dropped out of the runoff primary. Brandon Herrera is likely to be a representative of Congress after the mid-term elections.

[Charles Martel]

I’m happy that Gonzales is out, but I kind of feel bad for Herrera. Right now he’s like Indiana Jones in that scene where he’s peering down into that dark pit, realizing that it’s full of snakes... and that he’s gotta climb down there.

[marktwain]

He has the Trump administration on his side. If we are to continue restoring the Republic, some have to go to Congress to do it.

He is smart. I hope he can withstand the temptations.

[dljordan]

Well, we know he’s pro 2A.