Tuesday's primary elections in Texas seem to have left incumbent U.S. Rep. Ernest "Tony" Gonzales in a run-off with gun tube's Brandon Herrera. 

The rematch between the increasingly scandalous Gonzales, a retired Navy crypto Master Chief who entered Congress in 2021 and is seeking to retain his seat, and the AK-50 designing/gun meme reviewer Herrera came down to the wire Wednesday morning in a dead heat. In 2024, Gonzales narrowly bested Herrera in a tight runoff, and it seems that the two will face off in a similar event on May 26 to decide who will advance on the Republican ticket to the November general election. 

The results early Wednesday for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas – stretching West across the Lone Star State from San Antonio to El Paso – with 77 percent of the ballots counted, had Gonzales with 20,280 votes (42.5 percent) in the GOP primary, while Herrera was a near tie at 20,276 votes. Spoilers, Keith Barton (4,073 votes) and Francisco Canseco (3,047 votes), came up in distant third and fourth place. 

Of note, in the 15 counties in the 23rd District, Herrera had runaway leads higher than 15 points in four: Brewster, Culberson, Kinney, and Loving, whereas Gonzales only held a similar +15 lead in one county, Pecos. 

While Herrera, a 07 Firearm Manufacturer and gun culture influencer, is outspoken on his views on the right to keep and bear arms (and arm bears), Gonzales is more of a RINO yet earned the endorsement of President Trump last December. In 2022, the Congressman was one of just 14 House Republicans to cast their lot with the chamber's Dems to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most sweeping federal anti-gun legislation in a generation. 

It has been widely reported in Texas and along the Beltway that several House Republicans have called for Gonzales to step down from office over misconduct allegations with a former aide who died by suicide last September.   

Likewise, media outlets in Texas have thrown rocks at Herrera over some past cherry-picked comments and content. But, in his defense, he's the AK guy, so...