Brandon Herrera
RChallengerFEC H4TX23120
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Raised this cycle$3.1M
Cash on hand: $319K
2026 race
TX-23 — U.S. House
3 candidates on the November ballot. No incumbent — open seat.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 3 earlier contests
Republican runoff · Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Brandon HerreraWon
Democratic primary · Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Katy Padilla StoutWon52.0%
- DSantos LimonDefeated27.1%
- DBruce Carlton RichardsonDefeated11.8%
- DGretel Marysdatter EnckDefeated9.0%
Republican primary · Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
No candidate won a majority — the top two advanced to a runoff: Ernest Anthony Tony Gonzales and Brandon Herrera.
- RErnest Anthony Tony Gonzales· left the raceAdvanced to runoff43.0%
- RBrandon HerreraAdvanced to runoff42.2%
- RKeith George Keith BartonDefeated9.0%
- RFrancisco 'quico' Raul CansecoDefeated6.0%
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Texas Secretary of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$6.4M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Candidates
Sorted by fundraising
Katy Padilla Stout
DChallengerFEC H6TX23273
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Raised this cycle$1.1M
Cash on hand: $144K
Ben Mendoza
IChallengerFEC H6TX16111
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
6 defeated candidates — show
Susan Storey Rubio
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6TX23232
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Raised this cycle$419K
Cash on hand: $0
Santos Limon
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H4TX23138
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Raised this cycle$357K
Cash on hand: $350K
Gretel Marysdatter Enck
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6TX23257
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Raised this cycle$99K
Cash on hand: $0
Francisco 'quico' Raul Canseco
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H4TX28046
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Raised this cycle$80K
Cash on hand: $128K
Keith George Keith Barton
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6TX23281
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
Bruce Carlton Richardson
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6TX23240
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
Local signal
Early read on TX-23 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Brandon Herreraleans negative
0 pos7 neutral2 neg9 articles
Katy Padilla Stoutlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$6.4M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$5.2M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$1.2M
$634K for · $589K against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon Herrera(R) + FREEDOM CAUCUS FUND $632K + GOA VICTORY FUND $2K + MAKE LIBERTY WIN $447 − AB PAC $268K − HISPANIC LEADERSHIP TRUST $75K − HISPANIC LEADERSHIP ACTION $73K | $3.1M | $634K | $416K | $3.3M |
Katy Padilla Stout(D) − FREEDOM CAUCUS FUND $173K | $1.1M | — | $173K | $944K |
Ben Mendoza(I) | $0 | — | — | $0 |
6 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Susan Storey Rubio(R)defeated | $419K | — | — | $419K |
Santos Limon(D)defeated | $357K | — | — | $357K |
Gretel Marysdatter Enck(D)defeated | $99K | — | — | $99K |
Francisco 'quico' Raul Canseco(R)defeated | $80K | — | — | $80K |
Keith George Keith Barton(R)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Bruce Carlton Richardson(D)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside TX versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Brandon Herrera(R)33% in-state · $750K itemized
$245K in-state$505K out-of-state
Katy Padilla Stout(D)51% in-state · $257K itemized
$131K in-state$126K out-of-state
3 defeated candidates — show
Susan Storey Rubio(R)defeated98% in-state · $66K itemized
$64K in-state$2K out-of-state
Santos Limon(D)defeated59% in-state · $2K itemized
$1K in-state$825 out-of-state
Gretel Marysdatter Enck(D)defeated52% in-state · $32K itemized
$16K in-state$15K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Herrera | Stout | Mendoza | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Abortioncontested A national law should protect access to abortion in every state. | — | |||
Gunscontested Federal law should authorize court-issued red-flag orders allowing temporary firearm removal from people deemed a danger. | — | |||
Immigrationcontested The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | |||
Taxescontested People making over $400,000 a year should pay higher taxes. | — | |||
Abortion Tax dollars should not pay for abortions. | — | |||
Abortion Each state should set its own abortion laws. | — | |||
Agriculture SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and benefit levels should be expanded. | — | |||
Economy The federal minimum wage should be raised. | — | |||
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | |||
Economy The federal government should require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. | — | |||
Education Parents should be able to use public funds — through vouchers — to send their kids to private or charter schools. | — | |||
Education Federal Title IX protections should explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity. | — | |||
Environment The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions. | — | |||
Foreign Policy The U.S. should bring more troops home from overseas bases. | — | |||
Guns All gun sales — including private ones — should require a background check. | — | |||
Guns A concealed-carry permit from one state should be valid in every state. | — | |||
Guns Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted. | — | |||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | |||
Healthcare States, not the federal government, should decide who gets Medicaid and what it covers. | — | |||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | |||
Immigration People who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children should have a path to citizenship. | — | |||
Governance & Other There should be term limits for senators and representatives. | — | |||
Governance & Other Voters should be required to show photo ID, with the same rule in every state. | — | |||
Social Security Future workers should have to wait longer to collect full Social Security. | — | |||
Social Security Workers should be able to invest part of their Social Security in the stock market. | — | |||
Trade Federal procurement should give strong preference to U.S.-made goods, even at higher cost. | — | |||
Veterans Veterans should be able to use VA benefits at any doctor, not just VA hospitals. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Brandon Herrera
- In Texas, ‘everything is bigger, including politics’ - Roll CallRoll CallOct 28
- Texas Dem Katy Padilla Stout’s campaign spent $4K on cookies, beer, wine and foodNew York PostOct 17
- Cookies, liquor and mocking Nazis fuel final stretch in fiery Texas House raceFox NewsOct 17
- A rural Texas district tests Democrats’ quest to expand House mapRoll CallSep 30
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.