AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The abrupt decision by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales to not seek reelection clears the path for a self-described gun rights “absolutist” to secure the Republican nomination in a sprawling Texas congressional district.
Brendan Herrera, 30, originally gained notoriety by posting videos of himself shooting weapons, calling himself “The AK Guy.” He lost a close contest to Gonzales two years ago but forced him into a runoff in Tuesday's primary.
Click to Gallery
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference about school safety enhancements at North East Independent School District in front of the new Wilshire Safety Training Center Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Blaine Young/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Gonzales dropped out of the race on Thursday night after having admitted to an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide, meaning Herrera suddenly has no competition for the Republican mantle in the state's 23rd congressional district. Democrats hope to pull off an upset by casting Herrera as a fringe figure from the hard right, but it will be a challenge in a deep red district that stretches 800 miles along the border with Mexico.
“I appreciate Tony Gonzales for making the appropriate decision,” Herrera said in a statement. “I look forward to being the voice of TX23 that our district deserves.”
Herrera moved to Texas from North Carolina in 2020, and he built a following of millions with YouTube videos about guns that he tested on a shooting range. He describes himself as a “Second Amendment Absolutist” and he sharply criticized Gonzales' support for gun safety legislation after the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, which is in the district.
He has also faced criticism for comments about the Holocaust. In a 2022 video, Herrera described a German submachine gun as “the original ghetto blaster,” and he goose-stepped to German songs.
While firing the weapon at a can of White Claw, another man wearing a mask asks Herrera if he is “hiding any White Claw underneath the floorboards?”
Herrera says yes and then shouts, “Gestapo right there!” before shooting a case of drinks. Then he adds, “they did not see that coming,” pronouncing “not see” like “Nazi.”
Later in the video, Herrera said, “I'm not really a big fan of fascism,” and said he was making jokes about history.
The Democratic nominee for the district, attorney and former schoolteacher Katy Padilla Stout, swiftly criticized Herrera over that particular video on Friday morning.
“Parents I talk to in #TX23, particularly those in Uvalde, are disgusted that this man could represent our families in Congress,” Padilla Stout posted on social media.
Yet Republicans have no fear of losing the district, and dismiss Democratic hopes of snatching the seat with Herrera as the nominee.
“Texas’ 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez. “While they talk a big game in Washington, they don’t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here.”
Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist in Texas, said his party has to decide whether Herrera is worth the “headache” during a difficult midterm election cycle.
The party wants to feel like the district is “in the bag and off the board,” he said, but “it probably won't be.”
“They’re going to take a look at this one,” Steinhauser said. “Does it hurt the Republican Party to support this particular candidate?”
The district is the second-largest in the country and was one of Congress' perennial battlegrounds before it was redrawn in 2021. It was a Republican stronghold in 2024 when President Donald Trump carried the district by nearly 15 points.
Trump had previously endorsed Gonzales. Last month, a lawyer representing the president sent Herrera's campaign a “cease and desist” letter accusing it of sending deceptive mailers with Trump's image.
But support for Gonzales began to evaporate during the scandal over his affair and the woman's subsequent suicide, and House Republican leadership urged him to end his campaign.
However, Gonzales said he would serve out his current term, helping his party maintain its slim majority in the House.
This story has been updated to correct the last name of the Democratic challenger for the district. It is Katy Padilla Stout, not Scott.
Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed from Phoenix.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference about school safety enhancements at North East Independent School District in front of the new Wilshire Safety Training Center Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Blaine Young/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Brandon Herrera, a Republican congressional candidate for Texas' 23rd District, speaks during an event, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Somerset, Texas. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazán)
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida, Toronto, St. Louis and so many perennial contenders not being in the mix for the playoffs turned the NHL trade deadline upside down.
Those teams and others were sellers this time or simply stood pat, opening the gates for a new set of buyers eager to take a run at the Cup. Many of the top teams did make a bunch of moves, with league-leading Colorado re-acquiring gritty center Nazem Kadri on Friday as the Avalanche look to make another title run four years after their last one with him.
The newcomers include the New York Islanders, who made a big splash by getting Brayden Schenn from the Blues for fellow forward Jonathan Drouin, a goaltending prospect and first- and third-round picks in the draft this year.
Schenn, who hoisted the Cup in 2019 and has captained St. Louis the past three seasons, joins a mix on Long Island led by standout rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 pick whose presence has revitalized the franchise.
“He was excited for a new opportunity to go to an upstart Islander team with the most exciting young player in a long time,” said Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, whose team also got first- and third-rounders as part of the return from Detroit for defenseman Justin Faulk. The Red Wings are looking to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
No one has a longer drought than Buffalo at a league-record 14 years, and the Sabres are on track to ending it. They added center Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers and defenseman Luke Schenn — Brayden’s brother — from Winnipeg, then made another trade with the Jets for forward Tanner Pearson.
“It's new for me,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said of the team adding rather than unloading players at the deadline. “This is why you play hockey. This is what it should feel like.”
Toronto joined the sellers by trading fourth-year forward Bobby McMann to the Seattle Kraken, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced. Seattle, which entered the day holding the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot, sent Toronto a 2027 second-round pick and a fourth-rounder in this year's draft.
Colorado getting Kadri back from Calgary put the rest of the league on notice: The Avalanche are not content to ride the speed of their top two lines.
They got Kadri and a ‘27 fourth-rounder from the Flames for Victor Olofsson, the rights to unsigned pick Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-round pick and conditional 2027 second-rounder. The Flames even retained 20% ($1.4 million) of Kadri’s salary as part of the trade.
The Avalanche had already bolstered their depth down the middle by acquiring Nicolas Roy from Toronto.
The Kadri stunner came hours after Minnesota got 38-year-old forward Nick Foligno from Chicago for future considerations. He now gets to play with brother Marcus and chase the Stanley Cup for a beefed-up Wild team that has made five prominent trades since December to put themselves in the mix for the championship after failing to advance beyond the first round since 2015.
In the East, Tampa Bay brought back winger Corey Perry in a trade from Los Angeles for a 2028 second-round pick with the Kings retaining half his salary. Perry, who turns 41 in May, has reached the final and lost in five of the past six years, including 2022 with the Lightning. The pesky winger has a Cup ring from 2007 with Anaheim and gives coach Jon Cooper’s team veteran experience and an edge.
Eastern Conference-leading Carolina has plenty of skill, and the Hurricanes got tougher in the final hour before the deadline by acquiring forward Nicolas Deslauriers from Philadelphia for a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick.
“We have a group of guys that has that internal toughness, that fight,” general manager Eric Tulsky said. “We do have that fire. But of course, it’s easier to have that toughness when you’ve got a guy like Deslauriers out there with you.”
The Rangers held on to center Vincent Trocheck, the U.S. Olympic champion who was considered the top player available on a lot of lists, and Philadelphia did not trade big defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Each player is under contract beyond this season.
St. Louis was active, getting goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof from the Islanders and forward Dmitiri Buchelnikov from the Wings, but goaltender Jordan Binnington, forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou did not get moved.
“I don’t spend a lot of time on trades that didn’t happen," Armstrong said.
The Panthers also held on to two-time Vezina Trophy-winning netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who backstopped them to consecutive championships and could now re-sign.
John Carlson going to the Anaheim Ducks just after midnight made it seem like the Washington Capitals were selling in what could be Alex Ovechkin's final NHL season, especially after also trading veteran center Nic Dowd to Vegas. Then they turned around and added Carlson's replacement on defense from San Jose by sending a fourth-rounder this year to the Sharks for Timothy Liljegren.
After trading Perry and sending Warren Foegele to Ottawa, the Kings got Scott Laughton from Toronto.
AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Greg Beacham, Dave Campbell and Dan Gelston and AP freelance writer Denis Gorman contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Los Angeles Kings right wing Corey Perry (10) and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (5) fight in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno, left, redircts a shot into the glove of Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
From left, St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, defenseman Philip Broberg, right wing Jimmy Snuggerud, and center Robert Thomas celebrate after a goal by Thomas during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Maddy Grassy)
New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) reacts after scoring a goal during the shootout of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
FILE -Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) in action during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Vancouver Canucks' Conor Garland (8) watches as Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie (1) stops the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland (8) looks to pass in the second period against the Seattle Kraken during an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)
