Katy Padilla Stout, Democratic newcomer, flips West Texas congressional seat

Katy Padilla Stout won the race for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District on Tuesday against Republican YouTuber Brandon Herrera, flipping the seat formerly held by Republican Tony Gonzales.

The Associated Press called the race for Padilla Stout, a San Antonio attorney and former teacher. The 23rd Congressional District, which includes a significant portion of the Texas-Mexico border, covers most of West Texas between El Paso and San Antonio, including the Big Bend region.

“I am honored to serve all the people of this district, regardless of party, regardless of how they voted,” Padilla Stout said in a statement. “I will fight for you and your family.”

It was one of several victories in a historic night for Texas Democrats. Two Democratic representatives, Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, held seats that were redistricted to favor Republicans. By late Tuesday night, Republicans had conceded three of the five seats their new congressional map was designed to flip.

The 23rd Congressional District, left largely untouched by the mid-decade redistricting efforts, voted for President Donald Trump by a 15-point margin in 2024.

Padilla Stout’s victory is the first time a Democrat has won the West Texas seat since 2012, when former Rep. Pete Gallego won the seat back from Republicans before subsequently losing his reelection bid. 

No poll of the race had shown Padilla Stout as the frontrunner, although one did find a tie between her and Herrera, who outraised her four to one.

The upset comes as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had listed the district and Herrera as a target in August. The seat, however, was not considered one of the more competitive races compared to several incumbent challenges in the nearby, hotly contested South Texas region.

Herrera sparked controversy throughout the campaign as Padilla Stout and others highlighted derogatory comments he has made on his YouTube channel and social media about women and jokes about the Holocaust. 

Gonzales resigned from the seat in March amid scandal over an affair he had with a staffer who later died by suicide. Days before his resignation, Gonzales had been forced into a runoff in the Republican primary by Herrera, a staunch gun rights activist, by less than 1,000 votes.