SAN ANTONIO – The primary race for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District is heating up as controversy swirls around incumbent Tony Gonzales.
District 23 has roughly 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, stretching from San Antonio to El Paso.
March 3 is Texas’ primary. There are four Republican candidates and four Democratic candidates, listed below in alphabetical order.
Republican candidates:
- Keith Barton
- Francisco “Quico” Canseco
- Tony Gonzales (Incumbent)
- Brandon Herrera
Democratic candidates:
- Gretel Enck
- Santos Limon
- Katy Padilla Stout
- Bruce Richardson
Historically, the district has brought a close race between both parties, flipping every few years through the early 2000s. But in the last decade, there has been a strong Republican hold on the congressional seat.
Gonzales is running for his fourth term in office. Last fall, KSAT Investigates first reported the death of his Uvalde-based aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, and there were reports he had an affair with her.
Gonzales has refused to answer questions about the alleged affair for months. Just this week, sexually explicit text messages were made public between the two.
President Donald Trump has endorsed Gonzales, but several Republican lawmakers have called for Gonzales’ resignation, including the other three Republican candidates in this race.
KSAT has reached out to Gonzales and his office dozens of times since September and has yet to sit down with him for an interview.
KSAT has interviewed the other seven candidates in this race. In alphabetical order, interviews and information on them are below.
Keith Barton (R)
Barton is a Marine Corps veteran. He now works in operations and logistics. He said his background gives him a unique perspective on addressing the district’s needs.
“What have you heard from constituents about what needs to be addressed the most in District 23 right now?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked over a video call.
“The first thing is water,” Barton said. “West Texas does not have a water shortage problem. It has a water leakage problem ... so, one of my first goals is to allocate those funds and start fixing all the major leaks."
Barton also shared his thoughts on security, energy and the economy.
Francisco ‘Quico’ Canseco (R)
The District 23 congressional seat is a familiar one for Canseco. He served as the U.S. representative from January 2011 to January 2013. He lost his reelection bid in 2012 but is ready to take back the seat again.
“I’m really the best solution for this,” he said in an interview with KSAT.
“Why do you say that?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“Because I’ve got the experience, I have the character, I have integrity, and I have the maturity and political maturity in order to get the job done for the district,” Canseco said.
Canseco said he filed on the last day to register.
“I got a call in mid to late November saying that the hearing was that Tony was in deep, deep trouble," Canseco said. “They thought that I should get him, and I thought about it. I consulted my wife ... and I said ‘I’m all in.’”
Canseco also spoke about the economy, the budget and how he’s handling this reelection campaign differently.
Gretel Enck (D)
Public service has been Enck’s passion for the last 25 years. She worked with the National Park Service.
“I live in Marfa, which is pretty much in the middle of the district,” Enck said. “This has been the great joy of my life to have all these conversations about people’s hopes, fears and concerns everywhere in the district.”
“If you make it past this primary and possibly a runoff ... are you confident you could beat a Republican in this district?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“Not only is the answer yes, but that’s why I’m running,” Enck said.
Enck also spoke on cross-border commerce, health care and immigration.
Brandon Herrera (R)
Herrera fell just about 400 votes short of defeating Gonzales in the 2024 GOP runoff. Now, two years later, he says his campaign is stronger and that he’s aiming for a comeback.
“I think we have every advantage we didn’t have last time,” Herrera told KSAT over the phone. “We have an experienced team. We have name recognition. We have better fundraising. We have a better map now. I feel like we have every advantage that we were lacking last time, and Tony’s certainly done himself no favors in the meantime.”
“What has your strategy been for tackling a district this big?" KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“We’ve been out there doing the same thing we did last time, hitting every single district,” Herrera said.
Herrera also spoke about border issues and veteran support.
Santos Limon (D)
Limon is another familiar face in the race for the District 23 seat. He ran against Gonzales in the November 2024 election.
“What’s different this go-around?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“The first time we ran, I was a newcomer. I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Limon said. “But I’m a fast learner.”
The three guiding principles of his campaign are what he calls the union coalition, the LGBTQ+ coalition and the veteran coalition.
He also spoke about immigration, the border and affordability.
Katy Padilla Stout (D)
Padilla Stout is an attorney and educator, but her proudest title is mom.
“I have four kids,” she told KSAT in an interview. “I think that people miss that authenticity and people who understand their day-to-day problems.”
Padilla Stout said affordability and education were two top issues she has been focusing her campaign on.
“If we can’t afford our day-to-day life, if we can’t have a decent standard of living for our citizens, then every other part of our society kind of collapses,” Padilla Stout said. “I’ve run on the platform of having or helping happy, healthy families.”
Bruce Richardson (D)
Richardson said through his campaign that the affordability crisis is the issue he hears about most from voters.
“People don’t make enough money,” Richardson said. “The things that I want to do to restore financial security to working families is make Medicare available for all with subsidies."
“At what point did you decide to run?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked
“I was chatting with a neighbor, and we were comparing notes about the 2024 election, and we said, ‘Well, why do Democrats lose this district all the time?’ And we thought, well, maybe I could run,” Richardson said.
Richardson spoke about his concerns with the Trump administration and Social Security.
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