Brandon Herrera speaks at the Revolution 2022 conservative conference in Florida. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

Facing a crowded field of colorful candidates, two-term incumbent congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents U.S House District 23, is heading for a run-off against a far-right Youtube vlogger known as the “AK Guy” in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Gonzales, whoses district stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, brought home less than 50% of the vote and will face-off against Brandon Herrera, a North Carolina resident who poked fun of veteran suicides last month.

The runoff will take place May 28. 

Gonzales faced four primary challengers in his bid for reelection, including Julie Clark, Frank Lopez Jr., Victor Avila and Herrera. All of Gonzales challengers centered their campaigns on the incumbent’s centrist voting record, labeling him a “RINO,” or Republican In Name Only.

During his most recent term, Gonzales was censured by his own party after rejecting a border security proposal authored by hard-right Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, defending a bill protecting same-sex marriage rights and backing the bipartisan gun law passed in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, which is located in his district.

Although Gonzales is heading for a runoff, challenger Herrera secured little more than 20% of the vote. Herrera’s underwhelming showing is a sign Republicans are moving away from presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “America First” rhetoric, Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said.

“I think what’s happening is that the commitment among the Republican party base to the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, that the Democrats are engaging in raining down tyranny across the country and the MAGA movement as a whole is weakening, mostly because the economy is good,” Jillson said. “Things are just going in a way that are not particularly comforting to Republicans.”

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This article appears in Feb 21 – Mar 5, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...