\u201cWe think this is a really important race with major national implications for this issue,\u201d said Giffords\u2019 executive director Emma Brown. \u201cBrandon Herrera<\/a> is one of the most extreme, anti-gun-violence-prevention candidates anywhere on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n Thirty-year-old Herrera is best-known for his social media platform, where millions of followers watch him shoot and talk about different kinds of guns. <\/p>\n He also moved his small gun manufacturing business to San Antonio several years ago, and became the GOP nominee to replace former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) after a scandalous affair forced the latter to drop his reelection bid<\/a> and resign before the end of his term<\/a>. <\/p>\n Since then, an array of Democratic groups<\/a> have shown fresh interest in an unusually tough district. TX23 supported President Donald Trump by nearly 15 percentage points in 2024 \u2014 much more than the roughly 5-point margin party operatives typically consider to be competitive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fundamentals of this district are pretty hard, and it\u2019s important to still be real that [Democratic nominee Katy Padilla Stout<\/a>] is in a very hard race,\u201d said Brown, who previously ran U.S. Senate and House campaigns before working for the Giffords group.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Brandon Herrera and his self-inflicted challenges have really put this race on the map,\u201d she continued. \u201cEverything from mocking veteran suicide, to being a little too close to the neo-Nazis, to being way out there on the gun stuff \u2014 has really not done him any favors.\u201d<\/p>\n Shifting public opinion<\/p>\n Gun regulation is an issue on which Democrats have lost in the past \u2014 and subsequently spent big money studying the nuances of public sentiment.<\/p>\n Even in a state where traditional wisdom says Democrats shouldn\u2019t talk about restricting access, the Giffords group says its data indicates<\/a> that voters from both parties increasingly consider stopping gun violence a high priority, and they\u2019re no longer sold on that argument that politicians can\u2019t do anything about it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea that this is a divisive issue is not actually all that borne out in public opinion research,\u201d Brown said. \u201cEven the majority of Ken Paxton voters<\/a> in the Republican primary statewide support things like universal background checks.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday afternoon, Padilla Stout was ready to test their theory.<\/p>\n She held her first public campaign rally outside the Bexar County Courthouse, alongside leaders from the Giffords PAC, retired VA clinical psychologist Ron Farnsworth and Sheriff Javier Salazar, each of whom stressed how gun violence had rocked their professional and social circles in ways that would seem to transcend partisan politics. <\/p>\n Padilla Stout said that despite many years as a public school teacher, she was so struck by the 2022 shooting at Uvalde\u2019s Robb Elementary School that she found herself among the many parents seriously considering homeschooling their children to keep them safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core of this campaign has always been about a mom on a mission,\u201d Padilla Stout said. \u201cI am happy to report that since we launched our campaign in November, I have had hundreds of moms join me on this journey to take our communities back, and to help our children and our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n Salazar, meanwhile, said the challenges that law enforcement officers face from a lack of gun safety regulations in Texas is undeniable.<\/p>\n \u201cI see the consequences of gun violence up-close every single day. I see what happens after a shooting, after a deadly domestic violence call, after a child gets access to an unsecured firearm, and after a family loses a loved one to suicide,\u201d Salazar said. \u201c\u2026 We can support law enforcement and still invest in prevention before deputies are called to yet another tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n Salazar is the rare progressive sheriff in the 29 counties that make up TX23, but he\u2019s trying to help Padilla Stout make inroads with those who might be open to hearing her out.<\/p>\n A gun-centric race<\/p>\n So far Herrera has only run Republican primary races, and says he doesn\u2019t see the need to moderate<\/a> or court a broader audience for the general election. <\/p>\n The leader of the National Association for Gun Rights told The New York Times<\/a> he helped recruit Herrera into politics, and the candidate went on to cudgel Gonzales as insufficiently conservative after supporting narrow gun safety measures<\/a> in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/KatyPadillaStout_TX23_CongressionalCandidateRace_GiffordsLawCenterToPreventGunViolence08_06.24.2026_.webp\")
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar speaks at a campaign event to endorse TX23 congressional candidate Katy Padilla Stout on June 24, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n