A CNN review of Brandon Herrera's videos, podcasts and social media found years of comments mocking women's weight, looks and intelligence. He called them jokes. He is the Republican nominee in a district whose last congressman resigned during a House Ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, and his opponent is a woman.
Texas ranks 40th of 50 on the measures we track, with the second-worst food insecurity and second-worst women's health scores in the country. Greg Abbott signed the abortion ban and the school voucher law, never expanded Medicaid, and now runs on affordability after property tax levies rose to $89.4 billion and home insurance premiums rose 79%. Here is the record, and what each of the seventeen Republicans running for reelection has been busy with.
Herrera calls himself a millionaire and told the Express-News he's made about $2 million in revenue. His financial disclosure lists $80,000 in earned income and no assets at all. He promised to fix it in July. He still hasn't.
The Speaker campaigned for Herrera at a San Antonio barbecue joint days after another video surfaced. Johnson backed his opponent in 2024 and again this year, Trump's lawyer sent him a cease-and-desist letter in January, and a Republican group ran ads saying he 'does not belong in Congress.' Nothing about the record changed. A seat came open.
A Texas Republican admitted an affair with a staffer who died by suicide, and the Speaker said it wasn't 'time' to talk about resigning. With Max Miller accused of domestic abuse, Johnson says it's 'not my business.' He had no such trouble deciding about Democrats.
A watchdog complaint says Herrera's campaign routed $2.7 million through a shell entity whose two addresses trace back to his own treasurer — a treasurer already fined more than $20,000 and tied to George Santos.
The DCCC added Texas' 23rd to its target list on August 5, naming Brandon Herrera's 'disturbing history of extremism, violence, and antisemitic rhetoric' as the reason. A seat Republicans have held since 2015 is suddenly competitive.
Texas Republicans literally ran away from reporters rather than answer for the Trump-endorsed candidate's remarks about mothers who advocate against gun violence.
Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera doubled down on gutting Social Security and shrugged off podcast jokes about killing the elderly — while his campaign site claims he'll defend seniors' benefits.
