Who is Brandon Herrera, candidate for Texas' 23rd Congressional District?

More than half of Republicans chose an alternative to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in the five-way Republican primary this month. Now, those who would seek a change in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District are down to a single alternative in Brandon Herrera, a political newcomer who must convince party faithful he’s qualified to replace an experienced incumbent. The 28-year-old YouTube personality, who designs and sells his own line of firearms, took 25% of the vote in the March primary. He’ll face Gonzales, who took 45%, in a May 28 runoff. At his first major campaign rally since the primary, roughly 200 attendees turned out to see Herrera at the Angry Elephant last Friday.

The event, which featured conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), drew a number of fans of Herrera’s YouTube channel, including one who waited in line for Herrera to sign his copy of Skillset magazine featuring the candidate on the cover. The publication is aimed at promoting the “alpha” lifestyle. Among the regular GOP faithful also in attendance at Friday’s event, however, some said they were still unsure what to think of Herrera and his unconventional campaign. Since launching a shoestring bid for Congress at a gathering of young libertarians last year, Herrera has brought on some professional campaign staffers with ties to former President Donald Trump. He’s raised more than $800,000 from donors across the country, and in the weeks since the primary, his team has been aggressively working to shore up support from more traditional political backers. “I believe he’s a serious candidate, and he’s eventually probably going to have all the support from the other three candidates who ran in the primary,” said Republican Party of Bexar County Chair Jeff McManus, who has been trying to help Herrera lock down those endorsements. Meanwhile, lingering uncertainty about Herrera’s conservative credentials has helped Gonzales pick up some recent endorsements from officials better known for their efforts rooting out GOP moderates, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.