Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde<\/a>, which is in the district.<\/p>\nHe has also faced criticism for comments about the Holocaust. In a 2022 video, Herrera described a German submachine gun as \u201cthe original ghetto blaster,\u201d and he goose-stepped to German songs. <\/p>\n
While firing the weapon at a can of White Claw, another man wearing a mask asks Herrera if he is \u201chiding any White Claw underneath the floorboards?\u201d<\/p>\n
Herrera says yes and then shouts, \u201cGestapo right there!\u201d before shooting a case of drinks. Then he adds, \u201cthey did not see that coming,\u201d pronouncing \u201cnot see\u201d like \u201cNazi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later in the video, Herrera said, \u201cI’m not really a big fan of fascism,\u201d and said he was making jokes about history.<\/p>\n
The Democratic nominee for the district, attorney and former schoolteacher Katy Padilla Stout, swiftly criticized Herrera over that particular video on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents I talk to in #TX23, particularly those in Uvalde, are disgusted that this man could represent our families in Congress,\u201d Padilla Stout posted on social media.<\/p>\n
Yet Republicans have no fear of losing the district, and dismiss Democratic hopes of snatching the seat with Herrera as the nominee.<\/p>\n
\u201cTexas\u2019 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it,\u201d said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez. \u201cWhile they talk a big game in Washington, they don\u2019t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist in Texas, said his party has to decide whether Herrera is worth the \u201cheadache\u201d during a difficult midterm election cycle. <\/p>\n
The party wants to feel like the district is \u201cin the bag and off the board,\u201d he said, but \u201cit probably won’t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to take a look at this one,\u201d Steinhauser said. \u201cDoes it hurt the Republican Party to support this particular candidate?\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Trump had previously endorsed Gonzales. Last month, a lawyer representing the president sent Herrera’s campaign a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter accusing it of sending deceptive mailers with Trump’s image.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
However, Gonzales said he would serve out his current term, helping his party maintain its slim majority in the House. <\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
This story has been updated to correct the last name of the Democratic challenger for the district. It is Katy Padilla Stout, not Scott. <\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed from Phoenix. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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