Herrera, Padilla Stout and Mendoza vie for Texas congressional seat vacated by Gonzales

Republican Brandon Herrera, Democrat Katy Padilla Stout and independent Ben Mendoza are vying to represent Texas’ sprawling 23rd Congressional District in the Nov. 3 election, seeking a seat left vacant after former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned amid a sex scandal earlier this year.

Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and social media personality, is making his second bid for the seat after narrowly losing a Republican primary runoff in 2024. Padilla Stout, a former public school teacher and child welfare attorney, won the Democratic nomination in March. Mendoza, an El Paso native with a family background in agriculture, joined the race as an independent.

The 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments and serve on committees. District 23 stretches from El Paso’s Lower Valley through West Texas to San Antonio. U.S. representatives serve two-year terms and are paid $174,000 a year.

The race took shape after Gonzales acknowledged an extramarital relationship with a congressional staff member who later died by suicide. Gonzales, who had been headed toward a Republican primary runoff against Herrera, withdrew from the election and subsequently resigned from Congress in April.

Herrera became the Republican nominee without another runoff against Gonzales, while Padilla Stout secured the Democratic nomination with approximately 52% of the March primary vote.

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Republicans have represented District 23 since 2015. Gonzales won reelection by approximately 24 percentage points in 2024, and President Donald Trump carried the district by about 15 points that year.

National Democrats identified the seat as a potential pickup opportunity, adding it to their list of targeted congressional districts in August. 

None of the three candidates participated in individual interviews with El Paso Matters. Herrera’s campaign manager said scheduling constraints prevented her from arranging an interview request and did not respond to two subsequent follow-up requests. Padilla Stout submitted responses to the news organization’s candidate questionnaire, but her campaign did not finalize an interview. El Paso Matters attempted to contact Mendoza on Oct. 14 to request an interview and questionnaire responses but has not received a response.

Brandon Herrera

Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and YouTube personality known as “The AK Guy,” has built his political identity around gun rights, border security and reducing federal spending.

He moved to the San Antonio area in 2021 and operates a firearms manufacturing business. Herrera first challenged Gonzales in the 2024 Republican primary, criticizing the incumbent’s support for bipartisan gun safety legislation passed after the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. He lost the primary runoff by 407 votes.

During an Oct. 13 debate in San Antonio, Herrera identified stronger border enforcement and lower taxes for working families among his priorities.

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Herrera supports expanding physical and technological border barriers, tightening asylum eligibility and reinstating policies requiring certain asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are processed.

He opposes construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park, located about 300 miles from El Paso, citing potential harm to tourism, agriculture and surrounding communities. During the debate, he pledged to oppose any spending legislation containing funding for such construction.

“I will not vote for anything that includes that funding in its package,” Herrera said.

On affordability, Herrera advocates tax cuts, reduced federal spending, increased domestic energy production and fewer regulations on businesses. He argues that government spending and regulation contribute to rising costs but has not outlined specific spending reductions or a detailed tax proposal.

Herrera also supports greater scrutiny of artificial intelligence data centers because of their potential effects on water supplies and electricity costs. He has proposed requiring developers to replenish more resources than their facilities consume, while leaving communities with a significant role in approving projects.

“We need to make sure that no community has a data center that’s shoved down its throat without their approval,” he said during the debate.

On school safety, Herrera favors expanding armed security at schools, potentially employing veterans in those positions, rather than imposing additional restrictions on firearms.

He also supports expanding community-based healthcare for veterans living far from Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Herrera has said he would seek a seat on the House Appropriations Committee to advocate for federal investments in rural hospitals, infrastructure and other district priorities.

Katy Padilla Stout

Padilla Stout, a former elementary school teacher and family law attorney, is making her first run for public office. A San Antonio native who also grew up in rural South Texas, she has emphasized affordability, immigration reform and protecting families throughout her campaign.

She earned a bachelor’s in education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 and a law degree from South Texas College of Law in 2013. Her legal work has focused on representing children and families.

During the San Antonio debate, Padilla Stout summarized her campaign priorities as “cost, corruption and children.”

In written responses to an El Paso Matters candidate questionnaire, she called for changes to the federal tax code that would provide greater support to middle-income families.

“I don’t believe we should be giving billionaires tax cuts at a time when we are debating whether vulnerable children should have food provided by SNAP benefits,” she wrote.

Padilla Stout also supports expanded child tax credits, universal prekindergarten and paid parental leave. She has criticized President Donald Trump’s tariffs, arguing that higher import costs burden consumers and small businesses.

On immigration, Padilla Stout advocates stronger legal pathways to citizenship and border security measures that do not rely primarily on detention, deportation and physical barriers.

“Congress must end the spending on a pointless wall and focus (on) an actual pathway to citizenship, securing the border and allow for reasonable and humane immigration laws,” she wrote in her questionnaire.

She opposes construction of a border wall through Big Bend National Park and has criticized proposals for technologically enhanced barriers in the region.

Padilla Stout has also called for a moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centers until Congress establishes protections for water supplies, electricity infrastructure and taxpayers. In her questionnaire, she questioned the substantial tax incentives offered to developers in exchange for relatively few permanent jobs.

On rural healthcare, she supports investments in hospitals and incentives to attract medical professionals to underserved communities. During the debate, she proposed student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who work in rural facilities.

She also identified federal student loan policies affecting nursing education as an overlooked concern for El Paso and other border communities. Padilla Stout said she would support legislation recognizing nursing programs as professional degrees under federal student loan rules.

On school safety, she supports greater investment in mental health services and raising the minimum age to purchase assault-style rifles to 21.

Padilla Stout has made congressional ethics another campaign priority, pledging to support legislation prohibiting members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from trading individual stocks, with penalties for violations.

“Public service should be service to the public, not service to your pocket,” she wrote in her questionnaire.

Ben Mendoza

Mendoza, an El Paso native whose family has worked in agriculture for five or six generations, is running as an independent, presenting himself as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties.

He cannot vote for himself in the election because he doesn’t live in the 23rd Congressional District, according to El Paso County voting records. His Central El Paso home is in the 16th Congressional District, a seat Mendoza has previously unsuccessfully sought. The U.S. Constitution requires that a member of Congress must be an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent at the time of the election; there is no requirement to live within the boundaries of the congressional district sought.

In an Oct. 14 interview with San Antonio television station KABB, Mendoza described his campaign as a grassroots effort and said his background gives him an understanding of border communities, agriculture, water conservation and the needs of rural residents.

He said voters are frustrated with both major parties and argued that his experience and approach to constituent services would better serve the geographically expansive district.

Mendoza identified rising electricity costs as a priority, proposing federal support for electric cooperatives that would give participating consumers greater ownership and control over their power supply. He also advocated working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state officials to address flooding and soil and water conservation.

On immigration enforcement, Mendoza supports requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officers to complete academy training and supervised field training before beginning their duties. He said Congress should provide funding for those requirements.

Mendoza opposes a border wall through Big Bend National Park and favors working with Mexico to protect the border on both sides.

He also called for greater cooperation with New Mexico over water releases from Elephant Butte Reservoir, arguing that farmers in Texas and Mexico need more reliable supplies. His proposal did not address the legal and interstate agreements governing water allocations.

On artificial intelligence data centers, Mendoza favors allowing local communities to determine whether developments should proceed, while expecting their congressional representative to help protect residents from excessive electricity costs and depletion of water supplies.

“I believe that the local communities should determine their destiny,” he told KABB.

Mendoza supports federal assistance for law enforcement training and stronger school security, but said local authorities should retain primary responsibility for protecting students. He suggested that school districts increase police presence on campuses.

On rural healthcare, Mendoza proposed partnerships with medical schools to expand access to mobile clinics and medical services in remote communities. He also expressed support for the federal 340B program, which allows eligible health care organizations to purchase certain outpatient medications at discounted prices.

Mendoza said he would maintain an open congressional office and establish a mobile constituent services operation that would visit small towns throughout the district at least once a month, helping residents navigate federal agencies and programs.

He argued that residents should have access to their congressional representative regardless of how far they live from a permanent district office.

Campaign finance

The candidates enter the final weeks of the election with substantially different financial resources, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15.

Padilla Stout reported about  $951,000 in contributions during the election cycle, compared with about $267,000 for Herrera. But Herrera’s campaign also received $2.29 million in transfers from other authorized campaign committees and $520,000 in loans, bringing its total receipts to about $3.13 million.

Herrera’s campaign reported spending $2.68 million during the cycle and had about $554,000 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30. It also reported $670,000 in outstanding debt.

Padilla Stout’s campaign reported about $977,000 in total receipts and $549,000 in disbursements, leaving about $428,000 available at the end of September.

Among Herrera’s contributors during the third quarter were Jody and Jill Saulsbury of Odessa, who each gave $3,500 through the Freedom Caucus Fund, and San Antonio businessman Charles Amato, chairman of SWBC, who contributed $2,500.

Mendoza had no campaign finance reports on file with the Federal Election Commission as of Oct. 16.

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