Republican congressional nominee Brandon Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and social media influencer known online as “The AK Guy,” said Wednesday he opposes construction in the Big Bend region that would damage the landscape, putting the GOP candidate for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District at odds with disruptive border infrastructure projects planned for the region.
“I have made it very clear that I oppose any construction in the Big Bend area that disturbs the natural landscape and threatens the jobs that tourism brings when non-intrusive technology would do the job,” Herrera said in a statement released by his campaign Wednesday.
Herrera said the Department of Homeland Security has previously communicated that it shares that goal and said he intends to hold the department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to that commitment.
Herrera also said he has communicated his position directly to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and pledged that, if elected, he would oppose border-related spending legislation that does not guarantee protection against what he called “disruptive and unnecessary construction” in and around Big Bend National Park.
The statement comes as opposition has grown in West Texas to federal border infrastructure work in the Big Bend region, including plans that could affect some of the nation’s most remote and environmentally sensitive borderlands.
Herrera, 30, is not a traditional political candidate. He built a large online following producing firearms-related videos and political commentary, with millions of followers and hundreds of millions of views. He owns a firearms manufacturing business and has made gun rights a central part of his public identity and congressional campaign. He has described himself as a Second Amendment “absolutist” and has advocated taking permitless carry nationwide.
His online persona has also generated controversy. Herrera has drawn scrutiny for provocative jokes and comments in past videos, including Holocaust-related material and other dark humor. Herrera and his supporters have characterized criticism of that content as attacks on his comedic style and online persona.
Herrera previously challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in 2024, narrowly losing the GOP runoff. He challenged Gonzales again this year and forced the incumbent into another runoff before Gonzales abruptly ended his reelection campaign amid a scandal involving an admitted affair with a former congressional staff member who later died by suicide.
Gonzales subsequently resigned from Congress in April, leaving the sprawling 23rd District without an incumbent heading into the November election.
Gonzales’ withdrawal effectively cleared Herrera’s path to the Republican nomination. President Donald Trump later endorsed Herrera, as did Republican congressional leaders.
Herrera will face Democratic nominee Katy Padilla Stout in November.
Padilla Stout is a San Antonio attorney and former public school teacher who won a four-candidate Democratic primary. She previously taught elementary school in Northside Independent School District, including work with special education, English as a second language and gifted students, and later became an attorney working on child welfare cases. She also serves on the Bexar County Child Welfare Board.
The contest presents voters with sharply different candidates. Herrera has built his public profile largely through firearms advocacy, entrepreneurship and social media, while Padilla Stout has emphasized her background in education, law, child welfare and working-family issues. The candidates also differ significantly on gun policy, with Herrera advocating broader gun-carry rights while Padilla Stout supports measures including universal background checks and red flag laws.
Texas’ 23rd Congressional District stretches across a vast section of South and West Texas from the San Antonio area toward El Paso and includes much of the Big Bend region. Republicans have held the seat since 2015, but Gonzales’ departure and Herrera’s unconventional candidacy have led Democrats to argue the district could become more competitive in November.
Herrera’s Wednesday statement puts preservation of Big Bend squarely into the congressional campaign, with the Republican nominee promising to use congressional oversight and federal spending votes to fight construction he believes would unnecessarily damage the region’s landscape and tourism economy.
