TX-23: A key test awaits a Texas Democrat in a suddenly compelling race
Attorney Katy Padilla Stout received an endorsement on Tuesday from EMILYs List, a week before the end of her most important fundraising quarter to date.
A month ago, Padilla Stout was one of four underfunded candidates competing for the right to take on Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, a sprawling West Texas constituency that Donald Trump carried 57-42 in 2024. Padilla Stout had brought in less than $50,000 through Feb. 11, which was the end of the most recent reporting period.
But the race completely transformed over the ensuing six weeks. The upheaval on the Republican side, as well as the Texas GOP’s shaky standing with Latino voters along the border with Mexico, have Democrats taking a new look at Padilla Stout’s prospects.
Gonzales’ campaign started to collapse on Feb. 17, when the San Antonio Express-News published new evidence that he’d had an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a subordinate who died by suicide in September. Brandon Herrera, a far-right “gunfluencer” whom Gonzales had narrowly fended off in 2024, went on to outpace the incumbent 43-42 in the primary on March 3.
https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-a-key-test-awaits