challenge the zionists and win may be the new way to run; 

 

When Brandon Herrera came within 354 votes of toppling a sitting congressman in the May 2024 Republican runoff, the pro-Israel establishment dismissed it as a fluke. When he came back in March 2026, finished within one point of the incumbent in the primary, and watched a sex scandal force Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) out of the race entirely, it became impossible to ignore.

The “AK Guy” is now the presumptive Republican nominee in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, and his ascent represents something far more significant than one YouTuber’s political ambitions. Herrera’s rise reflects a growing anti-Zionist current within the Republican Party that threatens to shatter decades of bipartisan consensus on Israel.

Who Is Brandon Herrera?

Brandon Herrera built his public profile as a firearms manufacturer and YouTuber known as “The AK Guy.” His YouTube channel, focused on firearms reviews, history, and gun-rights advocacy, has accumulated more than 4 million subscribers. He owns a small firearms manufacturing company in San Antonio and is running in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, a sprawling border seat covering 27 counties from San Antonio to El Paso. After Gonzales dropped his reelection bid on March 5, 2026 — two days after the primary, under pressure from House Republican leadership — Herrera became the de facto Republican nominee...........more............