Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales forced into GOP runoff against influencer Brandon Herrera

Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican who was sanctioned by the state party for breaking with conservatives in Congress on important votes, was forced into a primary runoff election against influencer Brandon Herrera.

Gonzales received 45% of the votes in the Super Tuesday GOP primary for Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which includes much of Texas' border with Mexico, according to The Associated Press. Herrera, a gun rights advocate with 3.26 million YouTube subscribers, came in second with nearly 25% of the vote.

Because Gonzales, who was elected in 2020, did not receive more than 50% of the vote, he and Herrera, will head to the runoff on May 28.

The Texas State Republican Executive Committee voted in favor of censuring Gonzales about one year before the Super Tuesday race for voting with Democrats on key issues such as protecting gay marriage and supporting firearm restrictions after the Uvalde elementary school shooting occurred in his district.

Herrera celebrated the election results in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"I'm so proud of what we accomplished together. Tonight we sent a message," he wrote. "Texas is done with RINO’s [sic]. The war starts now."

Whichever Republican wins the runoff will go on to face Democrat Santos Limon in the general election this November, but Democrats are likely to have a difficult battle in the district, as it has been controlled by Republicans since 2014.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.