Former President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in a high-stakes GOP rematch with gun influencer Brandon Herrera, giving the San Antonio incumbent a marquee endorsement as last cycle’s razor-thin primary fight gears up for round two.
Trump’s Pick Lands On Truth Social
In a post on Truth Social, Trump spotlighted Gonzales’s Navy service and delivered an emphatic seal of approval: "Tony Gonzales has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re‑Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" according to KVIA. The message highlighted Gonzales’s deployments and conservative record, language his campaign is likely to repeat as it works to fire up Republican voters across the vast district.
Rematch With ‘AK Guy’ Looms
Brandon Herrera, better known online as the "AK Guy," is back on the ballot after nearly toppling Gonzales in the 2024 primary runoff. The Texas Tribune reported that Herrera finished within about 400 votes of the incumbent and is again leaning on his sizable social media following to fuel a second challenge.
Cash And New Maps Give Gonzales An Edge
Gonzales heads into the rematch with a clear money advantage, holding roughly $2.5 million in cash on hand compared with Herrera’s more than $1.1 million, according to the San Antonio Express‑News. The outlet also noted that Trump on Thursday weighed in on another South Texas race, endorsing Eric Flores in the 34th District as part of a broader effort to shape Republican primaries across the state.
Jan. 6 Friction Still Lingers
Gonzales’s comments about the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol continue to dog him with parts of the GOP base. He previously referred to participants as "domestic terrorists" and later called the day a "dark day," ABC News reported. Those remarks have given Herrera a steady line of attack against the incumbent’s conservative credentials.
District Voters Weigh Border And Safety
Texas’s 23rd Congressional District stretches from San Antonio’s West Side out to El Paso, taking in border communities, sparsely populated counties and fast-growing suburbs where immigration and public safety routinely top voter concerns, according to Texas Public Radio. In a district that sprawling and varied, national endorsements can bring in money and attention, but they do not automatically translate into votes in every pocket of the map.
What The Endorsement Could Mean
Trump’s move signals a willingness to wade into primaries to defend incumbents and shape the future House Republican Conference ahead of next year’s midterms, a pattern Roll Call has tracked across several races. Such endorsements can turbocharge fundraising and provide instant credibility with many GOP voters, but they are not a guarantee, especially when opponents can energize an already fired-up grassroots base.
Herrera, for his part, is treating the endorsement as expected and says he is not going anywhere. "I completely understand President Trump's need to endorse incumbents, no matter how bad, to help secure Republican votes in the House," he told the San Antonio Express‑News. With national money pouring in and social media audiences watching closely, the Gonzales Herrera sequel is shaping up as an early test of whether local Republicans will follow Trump’s nod or Herrera’s online pull at the ballot box.
