Shortly after declaring that running for congress was “one of the worst nine-month experiences of my life,” gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera is rushing into the breach again.
He starts off by comparing his run to Rocky II, the movie in which Rocky actually wins the heavyweight championship.
His first run “was a terrifying jump into unfamiliar territory. But I did it because the congressman who represented me, Tony Gonzalez, even though a Republican, kept making bad votes that just made no sense to me, like voting for Biden’s gun control, opposing border security, selling out American interests on behalf of other countries, and a bunch of other things that shocked me to learn that a Texas Republican would vote for.”
“Statistically, replacing an incumbent that wants to run for reelection is very hard to do, but we gave it a shot. What followed was one of the craziest 10-month journeys of my life, running for office in Texas Congressional District 23, one of the biggest in the country, against one of the best funded members of Congress in the entire country.”
“We succeeded in our goal of taking him to a runoff.”
“What followed was a brutal two-month runoff where I had all of the guns and money of the establishment pointed directly at my forehead. over $10 million being spent against me. I got outspent like 10 to one.”
“I lost by like 400 votes, by 1%.”
Gonzales doesn’t seem to have gotten the message. “Like three days after the election was over in November, he was on CNN arguing against deportations.”
“When these people win, they feel untouchable. They will continue to do favors for the people who kept them in office and vote for garbage without any sense of accountability from the people who they hate and pretend to love when the cameras are on. The truth is, these people only understand one language. The only way to stop them, truly stop them, is to win.”
“I’m not going to lie, [the loss] started to eat at me. Those things that I didn’t like about DC, about my congressman, they didn’t change. The things that the voters in the district were upset about, the reason so many of them were sick of their fake conservative congressmen, they didn’t change.”
“People in the political world kept telling me, you know, nobody wins on their first try, even during my first try, which, I’ll be honest, kind of ticked me off, cuz I was, you know, gunning to prove them wrong.”
“Texas District 23 deserves a real conservative, not a cheap fake who plays one on TV.”
“Somebody who actually understands and respects the Constitution, not just as like a cheap line, but actually respects it. Someone who will vote not just to protect, but to enhance your gun rights. Not vote to throw them away when it gets inconvenient.”
“Someone who will actually vote to protect America’s borders, not just claim that they will on TV during election season.”
“Texas deserves better than Tony. I’m willing to put my life to the side to stand up and take that fight.”
He goes on to praise his donors. “The amount of you guys that were able to put together even just $5, $10, $20 blew away the DC professionals. I’m not even kidding. I had these conversations after the race with, you know, DC types who do political data for a living, and they were in literal disbelief of what we were able to put together. All with no big super PACs, no special interests, no foreign lobbyists, just me and you guys.”
“They literally didn’t believe me until I showed them the numbers. I mean, we were able to raise over a million without having to play the DC games and beg people who definitely don’t expect favors in return.”
“But this time, I want to make sure we give them a fight they’re not ready for. I’ll give you a war you won’t believe.”
Flogs his website: https://brandonherreraforcongress.com/ and says he’s going to personally match donations with his own money. “To start off strong, I’m going to be matching your donations in the month of August up to $100,000 personally.”
“I hate that money is such a pivotal part of politics, but last time I saw exactly what happens when you didn’t have enough. The establishment could barely handle us last cycle, and money and slander were the only two weapons they had. This time, if we keep the momentum up, they don’t stand a chance.”
“Unlike the DC types, I don’t need this. I already have my dream job. I’d be taking a pay cut to take this job, but I’m willing to do it because I truly feel like it’s the best way I can currently serve my country, cuz that’s what it should be.”
“When I’m in office, I will not be buying, selling, or trading a single stock. Hell, I support legislation to ban it while in office. Again, unlike the DC types, I don’t need insider trading to be successful. Although, if you’re looking for stock tips, I’d just recommend doing what Nancy Pelosi does. I hear that tends to work out for some reason.”
“I am tired of Republicans saying that they’re going to go in and they’re going to fight for us. And then when the time comes to fight for something specific, they cave, they capitulate, they say, ‘I had no choice.’ Most of them didn’t even bother to fight in the first place.”
Some of it is standard campaign boilerplate, but Herrera is striking all the right notes here.
As in 2024, unseating a sitting congressman is going to be an uphill struggle, especially since Gonzales has been careful to stand closer to President Trump (at least rhetorically) than he has in the past.
The Q3 fundraising numbers for the race should be very interesting…
This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2025 at 6:34 PM and is filed under Elections, Republicans, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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6 Responses to “Brandon Herrera Running For Congress Again”
When I heard that a college alumnus was running to represent the 15th District in the Ohio House of Representatives, I joined his campaign. Mike Wise won election on his first attempt and won two additional terms thereafter.
I spoke to him upon learning that he would not seek a fourth term, even though he had readily won reelection in 1996. He has become disillusioned by the day-to-day business of political governance, which inevitably requires compromise.
Henry of Navarre’ infamous bon mot, “Paris vaut bien une messe,–“Paris is well worth a mass.”
Henry led a victorious Protestant army against a Catholic monarchy. At the moment of victory, he converted to Catholicism. It is one thing to campaign against the establishment and quite another thing to govern those you have conquered. Men invariably compromise their principles in a bid to retain power.
So I understand Tony Gonzales. But if Brandon Herrera were to be elected to Congress, he would be subject to the same temptation as his predecessor: “Go along to get along.”
Duration is an element of power. Term limits would undoubtedly go a long way toward shielding elected officials from the requirement to sacrifice principle in exchange for acceptance by The Big Boy’s Club.
Given his temperament, Mike Wise made the correct decision. He left political office to practice law.
Winning three term to the Ohio House of Representatives may not seem like a notable
achievement but this is a myopic view. Mike defeated a Democrat and broke that party’s monopoly of power over District 15. It remains in Republican hands.
Much work remains to be done in Ohio for the evil legacy of Progressivism to be erased. Perhaps Vivek Ramaswamy can help it to happen. But if he succeeds, it will in no small part result from the effort of principled men who proceeded him and held the line until reinforcements arrived.
So I wish Brandon Herrera luck and caution him to be constantly alert to the Sirens’ song: Let’s go along to get along.
OMG! They took my old home town and joined it to The Mistake on the Lake (Cleveland). Unholy union! District 15 is now is back in the hands of Democrats.
What jackass on the Ohio Redistricting Commmission forrfeited that prize?
I’m on my local MUD board. That means I’m registered with the Texas Secretary of State as a politician in Texas. I’ve been “elected” twice to a 4 year position, but then we never held elections because we couldn’t get anyone else to volunteer to run against me. Nobody else wants the job.
From the role, I’ve learned the job mostly sucks. Nobody is happy with whatever decision you make. If you spend more, they know you tax more. If you cut taxes, they know you aren’t providing services. The fact is, most don’t care at all, which you can see with the primary having less than 30,000 votes and the general requiring 180,000 votes to win.
The problem is the wrong person can be corrupted. And that corruption can cause a lot of harm to the taxpayers and quickly. Texas puts a lot of guardrails in place for MUDs, but it isn’t hard to see what can be done to get around them. My small district brings in millions per year, and we have 3x operating expenses in reserves. Every year I’ve been in office, we have lowered the tax rate, but that’s because it is a new district and the initial rate is high to bring down debt. We now have our AA rating, so we are getting closer to parity with nearby and long existing MUDs are tax rates.
You get the wrong person in office, and they’ll either spend those reserves either in cutting taxes too fast or buying new things that will cost even more to maintain. That’s just the wrong person that is simply foolish. The wrong person that wants to enrich themselves will find a way to get a fraction of those reserves in their pocket. If you want to see how bad it can get, watch “Nate the Lawyer” YouTube series on “Super Mayor” Tiffany Henyard.
I think Brandon is a good choice, and he wants to do well. I just hope he enjoys the job. I’d say “I hope he knows what he is getting into”, but I watch Unsubscribed. His cohosts and guests know and I’m sure they’ve let him know. Careful what you volunteer to do, because you might just have to do it.
[…] despite being vastly outspent by Gonzales, only lost the 2024 primary by some 400 votes. Voters will get a chance to punish Gonzales for his sins by retiring him next […]
When I heard that a college alumnus was running to represent the 15th District in the Ohio House of Representatives, I joined his campaign. Mike Wise won election on his first attempt and won two additional terms thereafter.
I spoke to him upon learning that he would not seek a fourth term, even though he had readily won reelection in 1996. He has become disillusioned by the day-to-day business of political governance, which inevitably requires compromise.
Henry of Navarre’ infamous bon mot, “Paris vaut bien une messe,–“Paris is well worth a mass.”
Henry led a victorious Protestant army against a Catholic monarchy. At the moment of victory, he converted to Catholicism. It is one thing to campaign against the establishment and quite another thing to govern those you have conquered. Men invariably compromise their principles in a bid to retain power.
So I understand Tony Gonzales. But if Brandon Herrera were to be elected to Congress, he would be subject to the same temptation as his predecessor: “Go along to get along.”
Duration is an element of power. Term limits would undoubtedly go a long way toward shielding elected officials from the requirement to sacrifice principle in exchange for acceptance by The Big Boy’s Club.
Given his temperament, Mike Wise made the correct decision. He left political office to practice law.
Winning three term to the Ohio House of Representatives may not seem like a notable
achievement but this is a myopic view. Mike defeated a Democrat and broke that party’s monopoly of power over District 15. It remains in Republican hands.
Much work remains to be done in Ohio for the evil legacy of Progressivism to be erased. Perhaps Vivek Ramaswamy can help it to happen. But if he succeeds, it will in no small part result from the effort of principled men who proceeded him and held the line until reinforcements arrived.
So I wish Brandon Herrera luck and caution him to be constantly alert to the Sirens’ song: Let’s go along to get along.
Errata: Henry of Navarre’s infamous bon mot, “Paris vaut bien une messe/Paris is well worth a mass” is instructive.
OMG! They took my old home town and joined it to The Mistake on the Lake (Cleveland). Unholy union! District 15 is now is back in the hands of Democrats.
What jackass on the Ohio Redistricting Commmission forrfeited that prize?
I’m on my local MUD board. That means I’m registered with the Texas Secretary of State as a politician in Texas. I’ve been “elected” twice to a 4 year position, but then we never held elections because we couldn’t get anyone else to volunteer to run against me. Nobody else wants the job.
From the role, I’ve learned the job mostly sucks. Nobody is happy with whatever decision you make. If you spend more, they know you tax more. If you cut taxes, they know you aren’t providing services. The fact is, most don’t care at all, which you can see with the primary having less than 30,000 votes and the general requiring 180,000 votes to win.
The problem is the wrong person can be corrupted. And that corruption can cause a lot of harm to the taxpayers and quickly. Texas puts a lot of guardrails in place for MUDs, but it isn’t hard to see what can be done to get around them. My small district brings in millions per year, and we have 3x operating expenses in reserves. Every year I’ve been in office, we have lowered the tax rate, but that’s because it is a new district and the initial rate is high to bring down debt. We now have our AA rating, so we are getting closer to parity with nearby and long existing MUDs are tax rates.
You get the wrong person in office, and they’ll either spend those reserves either in cutting taxes too fast or buying new things that will cost even more to maintain. That’s just the wrong person that is simply foolish. The wrong person that wants to enrich themselves will find a way to get a fraction of those reserves in their pocket. If you want to see how bad it can get, watch “Nate the Lawyer” YouTube series on “Super Mayor” Tiffany Henyard.
I think Brandon is a good choice, and he wants to do well. I just hope he enjoys the job. I’d say “I hope he knows what he is getting into”, but I watch Unsubscribed. His cohosts and guests know and I’m sure they’ve let him know. Careful what you volunteer to do, because you might just have to do it.
Good. I donated, again, and hope he throws RINO Tony out on his ear.
[…] despite being vastly outspent by Gonzales, only lost the 2024 primary by some 400 votes. Voters will get a chance to punish Gonzales for his sins by retiring him next […]