Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales narrowly won his runoff primary election Tuesday, fending off a hardline challenger who attacked him for taking bipartisan votes, including helping pass a new gun law in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde.
Gonzales defeated pro-gun YouTube personality Brandon Herrera by just 407 votes, 50.7 % to 49.3%, according to The Associated Press. Gonzales took over 45% of the vote in the initial March primary compared to 25% for Herrera, but the two advanced to a one-on-one runoff because neither received majority support.
Gonzales will now be favored to win a third term this fall in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District — which Donald Trump won by 7 points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections — over Democrat Santos Limon, a civil engineer. The massive U.S.-Mexico border district stretches from the outskirts of San Antonio to El Paso.
Gonzales would have been the first House member to lose a primary in 2024, outside one race in Alabama that pitted two incumbents against each other after redistricting. He was backed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and even actor Matthew McConaughey, who recorded robocalls for Gonzales.
Herrera, who goes by the nickname “The AK Guy,” has a gun-focused YouTube channel with more than 3.4 million subscribers. He was endorsed by MAGA firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus.
Herrera’s staunch support for gun rights raised an issue Gonzales has been fighting politically since 2022, when he joined 13 other Republican House members in voting with Democrats to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a law that expanded background checks for gun purchasers under 21 and made it a federal crime to traffic illegal firearms in the U.S.
The bill passed the House just weeks after a deadly mass shooting killed 21 students and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is located in Gonzales’ district.
The Texas Republican Party cited Gonzales' vote in favor of that bill as one reason that it chose to censure the incumbent last year, in addition to his support for a measure protecting same-sex marriage.
Despite the political blowback, Gonzales told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “you cannot be afraid to do what you think is right. You’re never gonna get it perfect, but you have to fight for the things that are important to us. Keeping our kids safe from being murdered from crazy people, that should be important to all of us.”
“I’m not afraid of that vote. I’m not afraid of this runoff,” Gonzales added after saying, “I’m in the middle of a runoff fighting for my life, politically.”
The primary runoff drew over $5 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact, with groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund, the American Action Network (a nonprofit aligned with House GOP leadership) and the Hispanic Leadership Alliance collectively spending millions to defend Gonzales.
Sam Markstein, the communications director for the RJC, told NBC News before the primary runoff that the group views Gonzales as a “workhorse” in Congress and called Herrera "crazy."
Herrera’s campaign spent just over $700,000 on ads in the district since the primary, touting himself as an ally of Trump. He’s also attacked Gonzales for “[putting] American last.”
Gonzales’ allies hit Herrera on the airwaves with clips from his online videos, including one in which he mocked veteran suicides by saying, “I often think about putting a gun in my mouth. So I’m basically an honorary veteran.”
It’s an argument the pro-Gonzales groups hoped would be particularly salient in this district, which is home to Joint Base San Antonio and Fort Bliss.
Gonzales’ allies also tagged Herrera as a carpetbagger, saying he only recently moved to Texas from North Carolina.
Officials at the RJC tied Herrera to the current “chaos” in Congress.
"A very slim [GOP] majority, as you know, would be even more compromised and even more difficult by adding someone who would just go there to cause chaos," Markstein said.
“We don’t need chaos in the House,” Markstein added, “We need strong leadership and effective leadership.”
Henry Cuellar gets his GOP challenger
Gonzales’ fight for another term was the highest profile of a handful of primary runoff elections for Texas congressional seats on Tuesday.
In Texas' 28th District, retired Navy officer Jay Furman defeated rancher Lazaro Garza in the Republican primary runoff for the right to face Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in November, the AP projected.
In May, Cuellar and his wife were indicted on federal charges of bribery and money laundering. The congressman has denied any wrongdoing. President Joe Biden won Cuellar's district by 7 points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections.
The AP also projected that state Rep. Craig Goldman won the Republican primary runoff over business owner John O’Shea in Texas' 12th District. The solidly red seat is currently represented by retiring Rep. Kay Granger.
The race had split GOP loyalties in the state, with Abbott backing Goldman and state Attorney General Paxton endorsing O’Shea.
Alexandra Marquez
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
