(C) Texas Tribune This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Blast: Rinaldi exits stage right [1] [] Date: 2024-03 The Republican runoff for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District has gone hot the last couple days, with national reinforcements weighing in on either side for incumbent U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and YouTuber/challenger Brandon Herrera. Herrera hosted U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida before a packed house at The Angry Elephant in San Antonio yesterday, causing yet another headache for House Republican leadership. As Gaetz and Herrera shared the stage, Gonzales rolled out a slate of endorsements from House Republican leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson. You see, Gaetz played hooky from the House Republican retreat in West Virginia yesterday to go stump for Herrera. He wasn’t the only one, by far, but Gaetz missed a few pointed remarks from Johnson that many read as being directed at the man who put Johnson in the position of having to jump into the position of House speaker in the first place, after Gaetz led the vote that took down Kevin McCarthy. “Speaker just excoriated those who are campaigning against other GOP incumbents in their districts,” Juliegrace Brufke, a Capitol Hill reporter for Axios, posted yesterday morning. Gaetz seemed fully aware. “Some of our Republican colleagues are a little upset with me today,” Gaetz said yesterday. “Pardon me for saying so, but doesn’t it sort of feel like congressional Republicans have been in a state of constant retreat. So, I didn’t go on the retreat in West Virginia. I came to the front lines of the advance right here in San Antonio, Texas.” He called Gonzales a lackluster congressman who votes with Democrats, namely on the border and gun measures. “I want an excellent team of fighters, and sometimes that means not the usual typical politicians,” Gaetz said. “Sometimes that means folks who don’t have the usual pedigree and background, and sometimes it means they’re a little rough around the edges at times. But that’s OK, because that is what will save America.” Herrera, a pro-Second Amendment businessman and YouTube personality with millions of subscribers, doesn’t shy away from crass, edgy jokes. He even gave the crowd a taste. “I saw a statistic that last year, more fentanyl came across the southern border by weight than would be required to kill the entire population of the planet — or about 26 Austin feminists,” Herrera said, to which the packed bar erupted with laughter. “It’s funny the way my mind works now after this whole thing, because I’m already seeing that headline tomorrow,” he continued. Herrera’s past YouTube clips and statements about former President Donald Trump and his son, Barron Trump, even made it into an ad Gonzales’ campaign posted this morning, calling Herrera an “East Coast fake.” However, Herrera “ratioed” Gonzales in the replies. “My ads have only ever attacked you on policy, and that’s why your constituents have a problem with you Tony,” Herrera said. Herrera knows that his internet style might not play well with everyday voters. But while he cleans up for the campaign, including throwing on a blazer even if one or two of his top buttons are undone, he doesn’t want to make a complete shift. “At the end of the day, if I completely changed my personality and I changed my entire tone, I change everything, I just become a sellout that people are afraid of their politicians being,” Herrera told The Blast. “I say this all the time. I’d rather lose for who I am than win for who I’m not.” In his campaign pitch, Herrera says the more he looked into Gonzales after his vote for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, he saw how he was “trying to kill border bills,” voting for “vaccine tracking databases” and voting for the “sham” Jan. 6 committee. “We just wanted to take Tony to a runoff to make sure he had to face the constituents of his district and face the votes that he’s made and answer directly to the people one on one, which he now has to do,” Herrera said. Despite the times Gonzales has broken from his party, Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House GOP Whip Tom Emmer maintain their support for Gonzales. “Since his first day in office, Congressman Tony Gonzales has led the charge to secure our southern border,” Johnson said in a statement. “From hosting our Republican conference in his district to being one of our strongest advocates for tougher border security policies, Tony has gone above and beyond to keep the pressure on this issue and restore law and order across our nation.” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has also endorsed Gonzales. That was a big get, particularly because Patrick’s endorsement is usually a prerequisite for Trump’s endorsement because he’s chair of the Trump campaign in Texas. Still Herrera told The Blast he’s “got some things in the pipes” regarding a potential Trump endorsement. However, the most confusing part of the event came when a Herrera staffer approached The Blast and thanked them for keeping the Tribune free. He then started talking about an NPR report he heard. Who says conservatives don’t like mainstream media? [END] --- [1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-rinaldi-exits-stage-right 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/