US Midterms 2026
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Brandon Herrera, a Republican YouTuber and firearms manufacturer who ran for Texas's 23rd congressional district in 2024, is his party's nominee for the open 23rd district seat in 2026 against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout.
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Brandon Herrera.
Recent media coverage for Brandon Herrera.
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PulidoHerrera was unable to defeat his incumbent Republican opponent and only advanced because Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned during a runoff.
No story this week names this candidate.
Brandon Herrera was born on November 20, 1995, and was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in a military family. He became interested in firearms as a teenager in middle school. Herrera attended Campbell University, where he studied pre-law, before leaving to run his firearms manufacturing business, and he moved to Texas in 2020.
Herrera built his public profile through a YouTube channel, started in 2014, that tests and reviews firearms, including antique and military weapons such as the AK-47 and RPG-7, and features commentary on gun laws and politics.
In 2024 he and his team released the AK-50, an AK-47 pattern rifle chambered in .50 BMG. On March 19, 2024, he spoke outside the Colorado State Capitol and testified before the Colorado Legislature against a proposed assault weapons ban.
Herrera has described himself as libertarian-leaning, with an emphasis on gun rights and limited government.
In August 2023, Herrera announced a campaign for the 23rd district, citing frustration with incumbent Tony Gonzales's votes and gun policy. He took 25% in the Republican primary to Gonzales's 45% and lost the runoff that followed by 354 votes. After that race, the advocacy group U.S. Term Limits named him its Texas chair.
Brandon Herrera challenged Gonzales again in 2026 for the 23rd district, which covers southwestern Texas from the Big Bend through Del Rio and Uvalde to the northern San Antonio suburbs.
In the March 3, 2026, Republican primary he finished first with 43.3% of the vote to Gonzales's 41.8%, ahead of Keith Barton and former U.S. representative Quico Canseco.
Gonzales, who had admitted to a sexual relationship with a former staff member, ended his campaign on March 5, which cancelled the runoff and made Herrera the nominee. Gonzales later resigned on April 13, and the seat is open.
In the November 3, 2026, general election Herrera faces Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, an attorney who won her party's primary with 52.1% of the vote.
