(C) Texas Tribune
This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



The Blast: Matt Gaetz is coming to town [1]

[]

Date: 2024-03 

We haven’t talked about it much here, but there’s a shocking runoff taking place down the road in San Antonio, and The Blast will be headed there to scope out the race.



U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, was forced into a runoff last week against YouTuber, businessman and Second Amendment activist Brandon Herrera. Tomorrow, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, will visit to stump for Herrera in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District.



Gonzales touts himself as a bipartisan negotiator and who the Republican Party of Texas censured last year over his votes in favor of the post-Uvalde shooting gun bill and protections for same-sex marriage. Herrera says Gonzales doesn’t represent Texas values, particularly on gun and border policy. Gonzales’ 46% to Herrera’s 25% in the first round of the primary suggests a majority of the district’s Republican voters may feel the same way.



TX-23 has the most miles along the southern border of any district in the country. It’s also home to Uvalde and Eagle Pass, making it ground zero over both gun policy and border policy.



Herrera’s critics have accused the recent Texas transplant, sometimes known as “the AK Guy,” of opposing former President Donald Trump. However, in an interview with Glenn Beck this morning, Herrera explained that he supported and campaigned for Trump in 2016, voted for him in 2020 and will vote for him this year, but opposed the bump stock ban that the former president helped pass after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.



“While I support Trump, I support the agenda that he’s pushing, no politician should be worshiped to a degree that you’re willing to sacrifice principles,” Herrera said. “If you’re going to vote against the Constitution, I’m sorry, I have to fight you on that issue.”



As a YouTuber with 3.3 million subscribers and a few videos with around 10 million views, Herrera potentially has a deep pool of donors and supporters to mount a serious campaign. In a video Herrera posted to his YouTube channel this afternoon, he said people buying merch, entering giveaways and outright donating to the campaign have helped him fund TV, radio and mail ads across the district.



“I don’t have any big, shady, corporate donors. I don’t have any super PACs. I don’t have any of that stuff,” Herrera said. “I have an army of militant, pissed-off autists who want to remind their politicians that they can be held accountable, and at the end of the day, that proved to be enough.”



Herrera has previously noted that his congressional run won’t change his YouTube videos, including the crass jokes, the firearm demonstrations, the “demonetized Mythbusters” and internet culture videos. To get a sense of the guy’s vibe, this is the profile photo on his campaign’s Facebook page.



Expect The Blast to return Friday with some perspective on the race and perhaps a Florida Man reunion.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-matt-gaetz-is-coming-to-town

Published and (C) by Texas Tribune
Content appears here under this condition or license: Used with Permission: https://www.texastribune.org/republishing-guidelines/.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/texastribune/