Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has endorsed GOP border Rep. Tony Gonzales for a third term in Congress ahead of the incumbent’s Republican primary runoff against YouTube gun star Brandon Herrera.
Abbott announced Wednesday morning that he would support Gonzales, a Navy veteran, in his race and called Gonzales a “fierce champion” for bolstering border security measures in Congress.
“He represents more than two-thirds of the Texas-Mexico border and knows the dangerous consequences that President Joe Biden’s reckless open border policies have on our state — and our nation,” Abbott said in a statement.
“I know Tony will continue the fight in our nation’s capital to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists, re-instate the Remain in Mexico policies, and deport people who illegally enter our country,” Abbott continued. “I urge all Texans across Congressional District 23 to join me in supporting Tony Gonzales for re-election in the upcoming May primary runoff election.”
Gonzales touted Abbott’s endorsement and applauded the state leader for his example over the past three years responding to the border crisis that erupted at the start of the Biden administration.
“At every turn, Gov. Abbott has been the strong & fearless leader that Texas deserves. I am grateful for his endorsement & look forward to continuing our fight together to secure the border, unleash Texas energy & support one of the greatest pro-growth economies in the world,” Gonzales wrote on X.
Abbott’s endorsement puts the three-term governor on the record in a race where select GOP state legislators have shown that they are not all in on Gonzales for his 2023 vote in support of a bipartisan gun reform law in Congress. The vote followed the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, located in Gonzales’s district.
The Republican Party of Texas censured Gonzales in a 57-5 vote in 2023.
Gonzales is being challenged by Herrera, whose viral YouTube account @TheAKGuy features a variety of content about guns.
Herrera announced Tuesday that Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, had endorsed him in the race against Gonzales.
Within the past week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) visited Gonzales’s district to help fundraise for the threatened incumbent ahead of the May 28 runoff. Gonzales came close but did not clench more than half of GOP voters in the primary earlier this year.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“While Tony begs for money from big donors with the future-former Speaker of the House, I was out talking directly to the voters of West Texas today in places like Fort Davis, Presidio, Alpine,” Herrera wrote in a post to X. “The May 28th runoff will show that you can’t purchase a pissed off voter.”
Gonzales has also been traveling across the massive district, which stretches from El Paso on the New Mexico/Texas border east 800 miles to beyond Eagle Pass, then north to San Antonio.