Tony Gonzales Drops Out, Herrera Republican Nominee in Texas District 23

Texas Congressional District 23

In Texas District 23 for the House of Representatives, Tony Gonzales has dropped out of the race, at the request of House Republican leaders. According to texasscorecard.com, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders called on Tony Gonzales to step aside from his current campaign. From texasscorecard.com:

In a joint statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Conference Chair Lisa McClain said they have urged Gonzales to step aside from the race while the investigation proceeds.

The investigation into ethics complaints about Representative Gonzales started after Brandon Herrera received 43.3% of votes in the Republican primary election, while Gonzales received 41.7%. Then Gonzalez essentially confirmed an affair with a staffer who later committed suicide, on the Joe Pags Show. The allegations of the affair had mired Gonzales' campaign in the controversy.  On March 5, 2026, Gonzales issued a statement on X, stating he would not continue to seek re-election. From X.com:

After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district. Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful,

Brandon Herrera posted on X, thanking Tony Gonzales for dropping out of the race. From X.com:

 I appreciate Tony Gonzales for making the appropriate decision.

Texas District 23 covers a large chunk of west Texas. It is one of the largest congressional districts in the United States. It is a mostly rural district, running up to the edge of El Paso in the west, Oddessa in the east, and San Antonio in the southeast of the District.

In 2024, the district voted Republican, 180,720 votes to Democratic, 109,373. Because Herrera will not have to campaign in a runoff primary, he can conserve his resources to campaign against the Democratic challenger. The odds have shifted strongly in favor of Herrera becoming the next congressional representative from Texas district 23.

Analysis: With Gonzales dropping out of the race, it is likely the Democratic party will push significant funding to attempt to flip the seat. It is difficult to do in a district which has a strong conservative majority.  Brandon Herrera has shown he can run a good primary campaign. Now he has to run a campaign in the general election. He has a good start in funding the campaign. The actions of Speaker Johnson and the leadership make it likely he will have an endorsement from President Trump and obtain some campaign funds from the Republican party.

The Democratic opposition has tried to paint Herrera as a fringe candidate. Such attacks are not as effective as they have been, because the media landscape is far more fractured and partisan than it has been in the past. In the past, Progressive candidates, both Republican and Democratic, could rely on the old, dominant, progressive media to set the narrative and decide what was a scandal, and what was not. "Scandals" for conservatives had a low threshold. Scandals for progressives tended to be swept under the rug. That dynamic is no longer dominant.

 

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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