Tony Gonzales, Uvalde's Congressman, Fends Off Challenge From Gun Influencer

Rep. Tony Gonzales, the West Texas Republican who earned censures from the Republican Party for backing a bipartisan gun control law and opposing a border security bill, dispatched a right-wing challenger in a runoff election Tuesday.

Gonzales is projected to beat Brandon Herrera, a far-right YouTuber who managed to deny Gonzales a majority of votes in the March Republican primary.

Tuesday’s runoff is the latest instance of a failed attempt by arch-conservatives to challenge Republican incumbents from the right in the primaries — no such challengers this cycle have been successful so far in this election season. Herrera campaigned with a lift from House firebrand Matt Gaetz, who forced the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year and who backed a failed primary bid against GOP Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois in March.

Gonzales, a Navy veteran, is a two-term incumbent in what’s traditionally been a moderate, majority-Hispanic seat extending from El Paso to San Antonio along the Mexico border. It’s a region that’s seen a surge in arrests for illegal crossings. It’s also home to Uvalde, where two years ago last week, a mass shooting at an elementary school killed 19 students and two teachers.

Gonzales faced a multi-way GOP primary in the spring after breaking with the party in the wake of the Uvalde shooting; he voted to expand background checks for gun buyers and close the “boyfriend loophole.” Herrera, a gun enthusiast with a huge social media following, was the runner-up in that race.

Herrera’s candidacy was an unorthodox match for a district known for one of the country’s worst mass shootings. A Second Amendment activist, Herrera even campaigned at the gun store where the Uvalde shooter bought his weapons — an