“Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient btw.”

“He’s the most decorated veteran in American history.”

“Thank you for your service Brandon.”

Those are all comments on a campaign video for Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera posted to social media in September. 

While talking with veterans in the video, he says, “I’ve been an advocate of veterans for longer than I’ve been in politics… I’ve actually gone there to the Middle East … and actually stood next to our troops.”

Herrera never served in the U.S. military, nor has he claimed it.

Instead, he’s a self-proclaimed “entrepreneur, Second Amendment activist, and social media personality,” running for Congress in Congressional District 23, which stretches all the way from Northwest San Antonio to El Paso.

But he’s amassed a coalition of support among veterans, and it’s become a running joke on his podcast and in the comment section that Herrera is the most decorated veteran ever.

After finishing first in the March primary and forcing a runoff, Herrera became the Republican Party nominee when former U.S. Rep Tony Gonzales dropped out of his reelection race.

Gonzales succumbed to his own party’s calls for him to resign in April after text messages indicated he’d been having an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.

Herrera had previously challenged Gonzales, a former Navy officer, in the 2024 primary for the district, forcing a runoff. But a few months later, the YouTuber came up short in the runoff election.

During that cycle, the Republican Jewish Coalition spent millions on a negative ad featuring a clip from Herrera’s Unsubscribe podcast where he makes a reference to veteran suicide.

“I often think about putting a gun in my mouth,” he said in the video. “So I’m basically an honorary veteran.”

The comment is clipped from a discussion at an event for veteran suicide prevention, which the Unsubscribe podcast has fundraised for. Herrera has attributed the comment to dark humor.

As these videos have attracted the attention of national media outlets this cycle, Herrera has acknowledged dabbling in an online comedic persona, but has said he is ready to enter into a more serious era in Congress.

Though they circled the wagons behind Gonzales in 2024, this time around, the GOP has embraced Herrera. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R- Louisiana) even visited San Antonio to campaign with the 30-year-old.

“I also know Brandon Herrera has been out running a very effective campaign and explaining to people that he has apologized for all that. He was a podcaster and a provocateur and tried to get attention,” Johnson told CNN in September.

Herrera is now running against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, an attorney and former public school teacher, in the Nov. 3 election.

Appealing to veterans

Herrera was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in a military family, and moved to Texas in 2020.

The AK-Guy, as he’s known online, is currently the honorary chair of the Texas Veterans Coalition, a San Antonio-based organization involved with veteran voter outreach.

Congressional District 23 spans 29 counties and includes sections of several military bases and militarized zones along the U.S.-Mexico border.

More than 56,000 veterans and military personnel call the district home.

Hoping to motivate the bright-red district’s voters, Herrera is intentionally targeting aspects of his campaign outreach to the veteran community.

He’s hosted town halls, veteran voter registration events and his campaign website features a section solely for veteran endorsements, touting that 265 veterans have endorsed Herrera.

One of those is Philip Galindo, an Air Force veteran and one-time Democrat who also has degrees in criminal justice, engineering and intelligence, who was drawn to how “genuine” Herrera was in his initial matchup against Gonzales.

Galindo said he appreciated being able to go through years’ worth of Herrera’s online videos to get a sense of who he was, and that one moment taken out of context does not reflect Herrera as a whole.

“He’s a real person,” he said.

“[Herrera] understands the ground truths of any emerging issues that may come up with veterans,” Galindo said. “He hears directly from them.”

As for Padilla Stout, Galindo said he worries the “veteran vote” is not a priority for her. She has nine issue sections identified on her campaign platform, none dedicated to veterans or military issues.

Meanwhile, Herrera’s platform commits to employing two full-time staffers who will be dedicated to helping veterans — one in D.C and one in his local office.

He also pledges opposition to “endless wars,” saying he would vote to remove U.S. troops from Syria and Iraq, though that section of the website is seemingly outdated, as American troops withdrew from Syria in April and Iraq in September.

Herrera on the issues

In August, Texas Veterans Coalition and Herrera hosted an event that was described as “a veterans conference, a gun show, and a Comic Con all had a baby,” at the Thirsty Horse Dance Hall & Saloon in San Antonio.

Herrera took audience questions about veterans issues, guns and comic characters.

“There’s a lot of people that go out there with the mission of helping veterans, but we’re trying to figure out how to do it in a way that brings the community together,” Herrera said.

VFW post 76 Vice Commander Janae Sergio said in her remarks that when U.S. Marine veteran Ricky Ramos died by suicide last year, she called Herrera.

Ramos was the second veteran that year to die by suicide at the VA hospital, and Sergio said she invited Herrera to a veteran meetup.

“He was able to listen and hear the perspectives of our veterans and what are some of the things that are driving our veterans to take their lives,” Sergio said.

Later, a participant asked Herrera a question about resources for veterans struggling with mental health.

“This sounds like a very serious question, which is why I will not leave it up to our panel of idiots up here, and instead turn it back over to Janae,” Herrera said. ” … We need an adult in the room for this one.”

Sergio detailed options for support such as hyperbaric treatments and up-and-coming psychedelic drug trials, before passing the mic back to Herrera so he could answer the next question.

“What’s your favorite Jedi, and why?” an audience member asked.

“Qui-Gon Jinn, who is chill as sh**,” Herrera said.

He also fielded policy questions, at one point correcting a participant who suggested he was running for U.S. Senate.

“You couldn’t wish six years in D.C. on my worst enemy,” he said.

Herrera has publicly supported term limits for members of Congress and the Senate.

The 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde took place in the district. A gun rights advocate, Herrera has said he supports increasing funding for firearm training for school staff, and employing veterans to serve as armed guards in local schools.

When asked what the biggest threat to Second Amendment rights is, Herrera answered that it’s veterans and other like-minded people in the room not showing up to vote in November.

Public reception

While Herrera’s provocative candidacy has excited some voters, it’s alarmed others.

Former Ambassador to Jamaica and TX23 resident Luis Moreno, a member of the nonpartisan National Security Leaders for America said he worries about how foreign leaders would view Herrera, who has in the past made comments calling a Nazi-era weapon “the original ghetto blaster,” comedically reenacted the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, and drawn criticism for his comments about women and children.

Moreno has had foreign service postings in places critical to U.S. national security like Israel, Iraq and Mexico, he said congressional delegations are essential in maintaining American relationships abroad.

“I just don’t see him having the sophistication, having the wherewithal, people skills and ability to engage on these high-level issues,” Moreno said.

Former Transportation Secretary and Navy veteran Pete Buttigieg highlighted Herrera’s past comments about veteran mental health while campaigning for Padilla Stout in San Antonio in September.

“He mocked the suicides of veterans,” Buttigeg said, adding that the challenges of veteran suicide are all too real: “He went right, right to a place that I don’t even want to open up when I think about some of the people I served with and what they faced.”

In their only debate ahead of the election, Padilla Stout repeatedly accused Herrera of “joking about veteran suicide.” Herrera ignored her, instead opting to heavily focus on veterans issues.

He said veteran suicide was an “epidemic” and that rural veterans are struggling to find healthcare. Herrera said he would work to expand Tricare and the VA’s Community Care to address the problem.

Herrera has been an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump since he first ran for office, but the young candidate has shown that he is willing to break ranks occasionally.

He’s been outspoken at rallies and in statements about his opposition to a border wall running through Big Bend, for example.

“I have been the leading federal Republican that has been leading that front to make sure that we don’t have a physical barrier throughout Big Bend,” Herrera said in the debate.

Facing an uphill climb by the numbers, Democrats hope to harness the district’s Hispanic majority and Herrera’s past comments, as well as dissatisfaction with Trump’s second term in office, to motivate voters to flip it.

Andrea Drusch contributed to this report.