GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales wins primary election runoff against Brandon Herrera
The congressman, who represents Uvalde, faced attacks from his own party after voting in favor of gun reform and same-sex marriage.
Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales narrowly won his runoff primary election Tuesday, fending off a hardline challenger who attacked him for taking bipartisan votes, including helping pass a new gun law in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde.
Gonzales defeated pro-gun YouTube personality Brandon Herrera by just 407 votes, 50.7 % to 49.3%, according to The Associated Press. Gonzales took over 45% of the vote in the initial March primary compared to 25% for Herrera, but the two advanced to a one-on-one runoff because neither received majority support.
Gonzales will now be favored to win a third term this fall in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District — which Donald Trump won by 7 points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections — over Democrat Santos Limon, a civil engineer. The massive U.S.-Mexico border district stretches from the outskirts of San Antonio to El Paso.
Gonzales would have been the first House member to lose a primary in 2024, outside one race in Alabama that pitted two incumbents against each other after redistricting. He was backed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and even actor Matthew McConaughey, who recorded robocalls for Gonzales.
Herrera, who goes by the nickname “The AK Guy,” has a gun-focused YouTube channel with more than 3.4 million subscribers. He was endorsed by MAGA firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus.
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