Brandon Herrera (left) and former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz clasp hands at a San Antonio rally during Herrera’s first failed House run. Credit: Michael Karlis

San Antonio-area Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera’s mouth has once again landed him in hot water — this time for telling a podcast host that unadopted kittens should be sent to Chinese restaurants.

Herrera — a gun YouTuber known to fans as the “AK Guy” — has faced repeated blowback during his two runs to represent South Texas’ 23rd Congressional District over offensive remarks made on his channel and in interviews with other online personalities.

The candidate made the recently surfaced remark about kittens last year on The Josie Show, a podcast hosted by Josie Glabach, an alt-right provocateur whose Twitter account was suspended before billionaire Elon Musk acquired the company and reinstated her.

During the show, which aired last October, Glabach recalled adopting a kitten and then agreeing to take in its three siblings after she learned they were on the kill list.

“I hate to see animals put down for no reason,” Herrera replied. “At the bare minimum, they could at least collaborate with the local Chinese restaurant. Don’t let it go to waste, you know?”

Herrera was playing on a tired racist trope suggesting Asian immigrants eat pets, including cats and dogs. Donald Trump, during his 2024 presidential bid, claimed during a debate with Kamala Harris that Haitian migrants in Ohio were “eating the pets of people who live there.”

Ohio law enforcement and Gov. Mike DeWine later confirmed that there were zero credible reports of Haitian migrants eating residents’ cats or dogs.

Herrera’s comments, which were uncovered this week by the GOP watchdog social media account @PatriotTakes, are just the latest controversy surrounding his online remarks. He’s drawn national headlines for joking about veteran suicides, referring to children as “cum trophies,” mocking women for their weight and describing a Nazi submachine gun as “the original ghetto blaster.”

The new scrutiny comes as a poll released Wednesday by the Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC showed Herrera and his Democratic opponent, Katy Padilla-Stout, tied at 46% each — significant considering Trump carried the district by 15 points in 2024.

“Voters know Brandon Herrera offers nothing but sick and perverted video content,” Padilla said in a statement. “We just can’t afford Brandon Herrera. That’s why this race is tied with two weeks to go.”

Early voting runs from now through Oct. 30. Polls will reopen on Election Day, Nov. 3.

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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,...