A gun-rights YouTuber in Texas who goes by the “AK Guy” on social media has a clear path to the GOP nomination for Congress after Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales ended his reelection campaign over revelations of an affair. Brandon Herrera had forced a May runoff but now carries the GOP mantle across an 800-mile patch along the border that was. strongly Republican in 2024. With Gonzales out, Democrats hope to pull an upset by casting Herrera as a fringe candidate from the hard right.