Brandon Herrera, the firearms producer and YouTube character generally known as “The AK Man,” introduced his second marketing campaign for Congress on August 10, 2025, organising one other high-stakes Republican major battle in opposition to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) in Texas’ sprawling twenty third Congressional District. The rematch guarantees to rekindle debates over gun rights and occasion loyalty that almost value Gonzales his seat in 2024.
Herrera’s announcement video, which garnered almost a million views inside 48 hours of its launch, positions him as a principled pro-gun conservative various to Gonzales, whom he labels a “turncoat Republican” for supporting gun management laws following the Uvalde faculty taking pictures. With an enormous social media following of 4.4 million YouTube subscribers and an unapologetic pro-Second Modification platform, Herrera has demonstrated an uncanny skill to mobilize grassroots donors nationwide.
The upcoming major represents a second probability for Herrera, who got here inside about 400 votes of defeating the three-term incumbent of their Might 2024 runoff election. Regardless of being outspent by greater than three to 1, Herrera captured 49.4 p.c of the vote in opposition to Gonzales’ 50.6 p.c.
The central situation dividing the candidates stays Gonzales’ June 2022 vote for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the primary main gun management handed by Congress in almost three a long time. Gonzales was the one Texas Home Republican to help the measure, which expanded background checks for gun consumers beneath the age of 21, offered funding for states to implement purple flag legal guidelines, and strengthened penalties in opposition to gun trafficking. His resolution adopted the Might 2022 bloodbath at Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde, through which a gunman killed 19 kids and two lecturers and sits inside his district.
“If the vote was immediately on the Safer Communities Act, I’d vote twice on it if I may,” Gonzales mentioned in protection of his place, a stance that led to the Texas Republican Celebration censuring him in March 2023. He grew to become solely the second candidate within the occasion’s historical past to face such disciplinary motion, with the censure decision pointing to each his gun vote and his help for laws defending gay marriages.
Herrera has constructed his political platform round opposition to any compromise on Second Modification rights, positioning himself as a “no-compromise” advocate who would abolish or considerably prohibit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). His platform requires nationwide hid carry reciprocity, blocking all new firearms restrictions, and opposing purple flag legal guidelines, which he deems as unconstitutional infringements on due course of rights.
His 2024 marketing campaign secured endorsements from a number of distinguished conservative figures, together with former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, along with help from pro-gun organizations similar to Gun Homeowners of America and the Nationwide Affiliation for Gun Rights. The Gun Homeowners of America Political Victory Fund later featured Herrera as a headline speaker at their nationwide conference, cementing his standing as a rising determine within the Second Modification neighborhood.
Regardless of his shut loss to Gonzalez, Herrera’s stronger-than-expected efficiency established him as a serious drive in Republican politics. His run additionally validated the technique of constructing politically engaged audiences via content material creation and subsequently channeling this help base into electoral campaigns. GOA described his 2024 efficiency “the proper case examine that confirms how essential the Second Modification is as a marketing campaign situation.”
The rematch comes as Gonzales faces continued stress from the proper wing of his occasion. Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick endorsed Gonzales in 2024, offering essential institution help that helped him narrowly survive the problem.
As the first approaches, the competition between Gonzales and Herrera will take a look at whether or not institution backing and superior fundraising can once more overcome grassroots enthusiasm and social media affect in a heated political surroundings the place single points can decide electoral outcomes.
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About José Niño
José Niño is a contract author primarily based in Austin, Texas. You possibly can contact him through Fb and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack e-newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.
