{"id":2577323,"date":"2026-03-08T06:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-herrera-dogged-by-controversy-in-texas-house-race\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T06:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:29:25","slug":"brandon-herrera-dogged-by-controversy-in-texas-house-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-herrera-dogged-by-controversy-in-texas-house-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Herrera dogged by controversy in Texas House race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbrandon-herrera-dogged-by-controversy-in-texas-house-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577323&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas\u2019 23rd District Republican nomination is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ron-desantis-spokesperson-teases-major-announcement-liberal-media-meltdown\/\" title=\"Ron Desantis Spokesperson Teases Major Announcement: \u201cLiberal Media Meltdown\u201d\">drawing national attention<\/a> after Tony Gonzales withdrew from the 2026 race amid an affair scandal, clearing the path for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-candidate-brandon-herrera-attempts-to-debunk-fbis-account-of-mlk-jrs-assassination\/\" title=\"GOP Candidate Brandon ... Attempts to Debunk FBI&#039;s Account of MLK Jr&#039;s Assassination\">brandon herrera<\/a> to become the GOP nominee. Herrera, a Second Amendment activist and YouTube star with millions of followers, narrowly led the Texas GOP primary (43.3% to 41.7%) but did not reach the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Democrats have highlighted Herrera\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-did-dem-attempts-to-interfere-in-republican-races-turn-out\/\" title=\"How Did Dem Attempts to Interfere In ... Races Turn Out?\">past controversial statements<\/a>, including Nazi references and a video showing a Nazi salute, arguing the seat could flip in November despite the district\u2019s Republican lean. Herrera has defended himself, calling the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/quick-march-hong-kong-police-adopt-goose-step-in-drive-for-extra-patriotism\/\" title=\"Quick March! Hong Kong Police Adopt Goose-Step in Drive for Extra &#039;Patriotism&#039;\">goose-stepping<\/a> video a joke and denying he is a neo-Nazi. House leadership\u2019s support remains uncertain, though some conservatives and fundraising groups have endorsed him. Republicans insist the district is safely Republican, while Democrats say the controversy provides an opening for a Democratic win this fall.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Not just Tony Gonzales: Brandon Herrera dogged by controversy in Texas House race<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2524942\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"926\">Republicans<\/a> will still have a nominee in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"253\">Texas&rsquo;s 23rd District<\/a> haunted by controversy after Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) announced he would end his reelection bid on Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"249\">Democrats<\/a> have been quick to resurface the statements that can be found on Brandon Herrera&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/youtube\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1526\">YouTube<\/a> channel, including Nazi references and a mention of his gun as the &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HouseMajPAC\/status\/2029945654416453996?s=20\">original ghetto blaster<\/a>.&rdquo; Herrera, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/second-amendment\/\">Second Amendment<\/a>&nbsp;activist with more than 4 million YouTube followers, is expected to be the GOP nominee for the district represented by Gonzales, who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4482959\/tony-gonzales-suspends-2026-campaign\/\">withdrew under pressure<\/a> from House Republican leadership over an affair scandal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4484311\/california-shakeup-kevin-kiley-reelection-independent-darrell-issa-retire\/\">California shakeup: Kevin Kiley to run for reelection as independent, Darrell Issa to retire<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4482246\/kristi-noem-south-dakota-senate-race-2026\/\">Could Kristi Noem run for Senate after DHS exit? Filing deadline looms<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4482170\/stephanie-bice-hern-eye-senate-seat-mullin-dhs\/\">Stephanie Bice and Kevin Hern eye Oklahoma Senate seat if Mullin heads to DHS<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Herrera has made less than helpful comments in the past that will come back to haunt him, no doubt,&rdquo; one senior Texas GOP campaign operative told the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> &ldquo;All in all, I do think he gets it done, but it&rsquo;s going to require him to stay disciplined and push a positive vision voters respond to for the next several months.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Herrera can expect scrutiny over videos in which he is seen goose-stepping and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HouseMajPAC\/status\/2029912382244290803?s=20\">touting his copies<\/a> of Adolph Hitler&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Mein Kampf,&rdquo; as well as a video that included a friend doing a Nazi salute. Each has been highlighted by House Majority PAC, a Democratic outside group, in recent days.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680;&#128680;&#128680;<\/p>\n<p>Video shows Mike Johnson&#8217;s candidate in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TX23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TX23<\/a> Brandon Herrera goose-stepping to Nazi marching song &ldquo;Erika&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XMxj2X9BCp\">https:\/\/t.co\/XMxj2X9BCp<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4y2Ceaj6nG\">pic.twitter.com\/4y2Ceaj6nG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; House Majority PAC (@HouseMajPAC) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HouseMajPAC\/status\/2029629313306574884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In response, Herrera suggested the goose-stepping video was a joke.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I standby it, this shit was funny as hell,&rdquo; he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheAKGuy\/status\/2029973467404157002?s=20\">said<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<p>He also denied that he is a neo-Nazi, as Gonzales once claimed when the two ran against each other in 2024. It was at that time that his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >controversial statements began<\/a> to surface.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This should be obvious, but I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi,&rdquo; Herrera posted in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>House leadership has yet to announce if they will support Herrera in the general election, even as more conservative House Republicans and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FreedomCFund\/status\/2026025405900112374\">Freedom Caucus Fund endorse him<\/a>. But he will get the GOP nomination after Gonzales, his runoff opponent, announced his retirement due to an affair with a staffer who later died by setting herself on fire.<\/p>\n<p>Herrera beat <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tony-gonzales\/\">Gonzales<\/a> in Tuesday night&rsquo;s GOP primary with 43.3% of the vote and Gonzales at 41.7%, but it was not enough to get him to the 50% needed to avoid a runoff prior to Gonzales&rsquo;s retirement announcement.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have argued that Herrera&rsquo;s controversial comments, plus a lack of incumbency in the race, have turned Gonzales&rsquo;s seat into a pickup opportunity, despite the Cook Political Report labeling it &ldquo;Solid Republican.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Brandon Herrera&rsquo;s nomination is a gift to Democrats and a full-blown crisis for Republican leadership and the NRCC,&rdquo; House Majority PAC spokeswoman Katarina Flicker told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Herrera is an antisemitic YouTuber with a record that&rsquo;s far outside the mainstream, and his candidacy creates a clear opening for Democrats in November. Now the NRCC and Speaker Mike Johnson are aligning themselves with his extremism, and it could cost them TX-23 this fall.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have been quick to brush off Democrats&rsquo; newfound bullishness over the seat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is a safe Republican seat that Democrats probably only had a shot at if Tony Gonzales had won the run-off and stayed in the race,&rdquo; Republican strategist Dennis Lennox told the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em> &ldquo;Herrera is another Lauren Boebert &mdash; someone who will cosplay and who will likely face a serious primary challenge from a Hispanic Republican in 2028.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Without a bruising runoff, Herrera will have more time and money to devote to the general election against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4482959\/tony-gonzales-suspends-2026-campaign\/\">TONY GONZALES DROPS HIS 2026 BID AFTER ADMITTING AFFAIR WITH LATE STAFFER <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Texas&rsquo; 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it,&rdquo; National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em>&ldquo;While they talk a big game in Washington, they don&rsquo;t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here. In November, voters will once again elect a Republican who will secure the border, lower costs, and stand up for Texas families.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>reached out to Herrera and House leadership for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Herrera Controversy Clouds TX-23 After Gonzales Exit<\/p>\n<p>If you want a longer paraphrase of the full piece, I can provide one too<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2577324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP24148517236515-e1772846387762.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[75334,4087,50410,75335],"class_list":["post-2577323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-brandon-herrera","tag-campaign","tag-controversy-2","tag-texas-house-race"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP24148517236515-e1772846387762.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577323"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577327,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577323\/revisions\/2577327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}