Border Seat Erupts as Scandal, Booing and Brutal Polls Rock GOP Incumbent
A bitter Republican primary in Texas’ sprawling 23rd Congressional District has turned into a political knife fight, with Rep. Tony Gonzales battling for survival as controversy, collapsing support, and a high-profile…
A bitter Republican primary in Texas’ sprawling 23rd Congressional District has turned into a political knife fight, with Rep. Tony Gonzales battling for survival as controversy, collapsing support, and a high-profile challenger threaten to end his tenure.
According to the New York Post, the three-term lawmaker is facing the toughest race of his career, squeezed by calls to step aside, an ethics inquiry, and an energized opponent in YouTuber Brandon Herrera, known online as “The AK Guy.”
An ex-staffer who now backs Herrera said grassroots voters had already soured on Gonzales before the personal allegations surfaced.
“I don’t feel he was doing enough for the border crisis to stop that, the red-flag laws, and then the last straw was him voting for all the LGBT stuff, same-sex marriage,” the former aide said.
Herrera signaled he is closing his campaign with a focus on policy contrasts rather than personal drama.
“The arrow’s already in flight, and so we’re just gonna see where it lands,” Herrera said.
He added his message would center on border enforcement, the national debt, and veterans’ care.
“Let’s help President Trump codify the things that he’s done to secure the border; let’s work on the massive financial crisis, the debt crisis we’re in in this country; let’s make sure that veterans get the health care that they deserve and that they were promised, especially in such a veteran-dense district like District 23,” he said.