Gun-Obsessed YouTuber Narrowly Defeated in Texas GOP Runoff

Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales has fended off a challenge for his House seat from a gun enthusiast and social media influencer, but the margin of victory in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday was frighteningly thin for the more moderate forces in the party.

Gonzales, who represents the 23rd Congressional District, including Uvalde, narrowly defeated Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber and pro-gun activist known as “The AK Guy” who was backed by MAGA figures like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

The race put tensions within the Republican Party on full display, with Herrera attacking the incumbent for supporting a gun-safety bill in the wake of the horrific Uvalde school shooting, and Gonzales calling some of his far-right Republican colleagues “scumbags” in a TV interview last month.

Read more at The Daily Beast.