Brandon Herrera’s Controversial Past Shapes Texas 23rd District Race

Republican nominee Brandon Herrera – a right-wing YouTube personality known as “The AK Guy” – is under intense examination after CNN documented a series of misogynistic and sexually explicit jokes made in videos, podcasts and social-media posts. The remarks target feminists, gun-safety advocates and women in general, including slurs such as “fat b*tches,” “blue-hair,” and “thots.” Herrera has framed the material as humor, but the disclosures have become a focal point of the 2026 midterm contest for Texas’s 23rd congressional district.

CNN

The seat opened when incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned in April 2026 amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into his relationship with a former senior aide. Herrera, who previously challenged Gonzales in a 2024 primary and lost a runoff, won the March 2026 primary after Gonzales withdrew. His Democratic opponent, Katy Padilla Stout, a former teacher and attorney, is a woman, heightening the gender-based dimension of the race. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added the district to its target list and allocated funding to Stout.

The Guardian

• Herrera’s YouTube channel, focused on firearms content, reports more than 4 million subscribers.

CNN

• Campaign rallies were held in Somerset, Texas, on February 26 and Uvalde, Texas, on February 25, underscoring his active ground operation.

CNN

• Herrera’s campaign responded to criticism of his past jokes by issuing a statement that the comments were “jokes” and by dismissing media coverage as “disappointing” and “ignoring” his opponent’s legal work.

CNN

• Katy Padilla Stout defended her 2022 representation of a father in a parental-rights case, emphasizing her ethical duty to the client and contrasting it with Herrera’s mocking of women.

The Guardian

• Shannon Watts, a gun-safety advocate targeted by Herrera, told CNN that the online abuse she receives is “worse than it’s ever been” and described it as “obviously gendered and misogynistic.”

CNN

• The Republican Jewish Coalition reiterated its condemnation of Herrera, describing him as a “goose-stepping extremist” and citing its policy against Nazi-related rhetoric.

The Guardian

• “I think if we want a safer society overall, we should also be worried about candidates like this who help normalize things that we know are reliable predictors of political violence,” — Cynthia Miller-Idriss

CNN

• “Brandon Herrera’s disturbing history of extremism … and antisemitic rhetoric puts this open Congressional district squarely in play,” — DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, said DCCC chair

CNN

No source provides contradictory figures regarding Herrera’s subscriber count, the timing of his remarks, or the election outcome. The primary gap is the absence of independent polling data on how voters in the district perceive the controversy.

CNN

The race will culminate in the November 2026 midterm election, where Democrats aim to flip a seat the GOP has held since 2015. Both parties are expected to intensify messaging around Herrera’s online conduct and the broader implications for representation and political discourse.

The Guardian