U.S. House · Texas's 23rd District

West and South Texas, stretching from San Antonio's outskirts along the border to El Paso County.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 14 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

This is an open seat. Incumbent Tony Gonzales trailed Brandon Herrera in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, 41.8% to 43.3%, forcing a runoff; Gonzales withdrew before the May 26, 2026 runoff, which was canceled, and Herrera advanced. Katy Padilla Stout won the Democratic nomination in the March 3, 2026 primary. Ben Mendoza, a perennial candidate who previously ran for El Paso mayor, is on the ballot as an independent.[1]

On the ballot · 3 candidates

Brandon HerreraR

Raised $1.9M · spent $1.6M · $309K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Katy Padilla StoutD

Raised $485K · spent $314K · $171K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Ben MendozaIND

The candidates, in full

Brandon Herrera

Led the March 3, 2026 Republican primary with 43.3% of the vote, then advanced to the general election after incumbent Tony Gonzales withdrew and the scheduled runoff was canceled.

Brandon Herrera is the Republican nominee for this open border-area seat. He is a firearms manufacturer and YouTube personality whose channel focused on firearms content has more than 3 million subscribers.[2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Background

Attended Campbell College, studying pre-law, before leaving to start a firearms manufacturing business.[2]
As of the 2024 election, hosted a YouTube channel focused on firearms-related content with more than 3 million subscribers.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $1.9M · spent $1.6M · $309K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Katy Padilla Stout

Won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 52.1% of the vote over three other candidates.

Katy Padilla Stout is the Democratic nominee for this open border-area seat. She is an attorney with a law degree from South Texas College of Law.[3]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Background

Earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from the South Texas College of Law.[3]
Has worked as a lawyer.[3]

Campaign money

Raised $485K · spent $314K · $171K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Ben Mendoza

IND

Ben Mendoza is an independent candidate for this seat. An El Paso-area perennial candidate, he placed eighth in the 2024 El Paso mayoral general election.[4]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Background

Ran for Mayor of El Paso in 2024, finishing eighth in a field of eight candidates with 4.6% of the vote.[4]

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

This is an open seat after incumbent Tony Gonzales withdrew from the Republican primary runoff. None of the three general-election candidates has completed a Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey or published a detailed 2026 policy platform found in this session.

Sources · 4

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

1.United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
2.Brandon Herrera · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
3.Katy Padilla Stout · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
4.Ben Mendoza · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference