Texas’ 23rd Congressional District was long a swing district before redistricting made it increasingly Republican over the past decade. The district, which covers vast stretches of border country from the western edge of San Antonio to El Paso, voted for President Trump by 15 points in 2024. But the unexpected implosion of the incumbent Republican and the nomination of one of the most controversial candidates in the country has national Democrats convinced there’s an opening.
The district’s previous representative, Republican Tony Gonzales, dropped his reelection bid in March after admitting to an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. With Gonzales gone, the race was reshaped overnight.
The Republican: Brandon Herrera
Brandon Herrera, 30, is a firearms manufacturer and YouTube personality known online as “The AK Guy,” with more than three million subscribers. He owns a small firearm manufacturing company near San Antonio and built a large social media following using entertainment to promote firearm safety and Second Amendment advocacy. He is Trump-endorsed and backed by the House Freedom Caucus PAC, a far-right bloc of conservative Republican members in the US House of Representatives.
His campaign priorities include strong border security, no new taxes, the REINS Act to require Congressional review of major federal regulations, and expanded veterans’ healthcare, though in the past he has been criticized for mocking veteran suicide.
Herrera has faced significant controversy over content on his YouTube channel. He has made Holocaust jokes and discussed owning a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” Footage exists of him referring to a Nazi-era gun as the “original ghetto blaster” and simulating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Most recently, his on-air declaration that mothers’ opinions aren’t more valid “just because [they] decided to keep their cum trophies” made headlines.
See where he stands on the issues here.
The Democrat: Katy Padilla Stout
Katy Padilla Stout, 40, is a San Antonio attorney, former public school teacher, and child welfare advocate who won the Democratic primary with 52% of the vote in a four-way race. A lifelong Texan raised by a single mother, her family roots run deep in South Texas—her father and grandparents were migrant farm workers, and her great-grandfather worked as a custodian at the Bexar County Courthouse, according to her campaign website.
She has focused her campaign on affordability, healthcare, access to education, universal pre-K, and student loan reform. She has also addressed data centers, gun safety, and defending children in the foster care system—the work that has defined her legal career. Since 2017, she has served on the Bexar County Child Welfare Board and has adopted two young boys of her own.
Padilla Stout has been endorsed by Emily’s List and CHC Bold PAC, which supports Hispanic Democratic candidates. She has significant financial disadvantages against Herrera.
See where she stands on the issues here.
What to watch
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the 23rd district to its target list on August 5, making it the third red-leaning, Hispanic-majority US House seat to attract national Democratic attention ahead of November. The combination of shifting Hispanic voter sentiment, Herrera’s trail of controversial remarks, and the open seat has given Democrats rare hope in a district that hasn’t been competitive in years.
