U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 23 — Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales was pushed into a runoff against social media influencer and Second Amendment advocate Brandon Herrera on election day, earning 45.1% of the vote to Herrera’s 24.7%. Voters will head back to the polls in May to decide who will face Democratic nominee Santos Limon in the general election.
House District 23 — which includes the Big Bend — spans just over 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border from western San Antonio to the eastern fringes of El Paso. The district is massive only in terms of land acreage; it has one of the lowest population densities of any congressional districts nationwide.
Incumbent Gonzales is generally considered a moderate Republican, to a degree that has drawn widespread criticism. After votes in favor of gun control and gay marriage, Gonzales was censured by his own party in March 2023.
Gonzales also opposed HR 29, an immigration bill brought by fellow Texas Republican Chip Roy that would have essentially suspended the asylum-seeking process at the border, calling the measure “anti-immigrant” and “unchristian.” However, Gonzales stands in favor of SB 4, a law that would allow Texas to enforce federal immigration law.
Dark horse challenger Herrera comes from a vastly different background than Gonzales, who followed a textbook college to military to Capitol Hill pipeline. (Herrera reportedly joked that he may as well also be a veteran because “I often think about putting a gun in my mouth”; he has since denied the allegation.)
Herrera is an outspoken Second Amendment influencer with 3.2 million subscribers on YouTube, identifying as “VERY politically incorrect.” He also owns “The AK Guy, Inc.” which makes a variety of semiautomatic weapons favored by aficionados, including the mythic “AK-50.”
Before the primaries, Herrera went on tour through West Texas, stopping briefly in Fort Davis. He acknowledged that San Antonio is where he stands to win or lose the most votes — but hoped that he could get the rest of the vast District 23 on board. “I think it’s important to talk to the other communities, especially the border communities who haven’t felt heard and feel like they’re being forgotten about on a national scale,” he told The Big Bend Sentinel in December.
Herrera’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.
Gonzales’ campaign stressed that not all of his talking points are about controversial issues, highlighting smaller wins that could make a big difference on everyday life in the Big Bend.
In Presidio County, he signed a bill into law designating Marfa’s Blackwell School as a National Historic Site and wrote a letter in support of the city’s application for $121,5000 to hire an additional police officer. He also secured $1 million in funding for the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District in hopes of providing water service to underserved areas of the county.
In Brewster County, he secured $1 million for Sul Ross State University’s Archaeology, Anthropology and Cultural Research Center Project, as well as $2.5 million for the university’s Midstream Cybersecurity Hub. He also helped procure funding for a new HVAC system at Marathon ISD.
In Jeff Davis County, he won $1,346,800 for a new community center in Fort Davis, and helped officially rename the town’s post office after Sergeant Manuel Sillas Gonzales.
Gonzales has also been active in earmarking border security funding for the tri-county, including a provision in the FY 24 National Defense Authorization Act that implemented an overtime pay raise for Border Patrol agents. In FY 23, $1,945,000 was awarded to Big Bend sector counties through Operation Stonegarden.