Brandon Herrera
Herrera says the U.S. should send no financial aid to Israel or any nation until the debt is paid down, but would sell weapons: "If they want to buy rockets from us, let’s sell to them". He wants overall foreign aid slashed.
Herrera is a firearms YouTuber and the Republican nominee in Texas’s 23rd District. The incumbent, Tony Gonzales, withdrew from the primary in March 2026, and President Trump endorsed Herrera.
His position draws a distinction most candidates in this group do not, and he drew it himself. At a campaign meeting in Brewster County on October 23, 2025, read in full, he said the United States should not send financial aid abroad "until we have paid our debts down", and then addressed the objection directly: "People think ‘Oh, so you support Hamas’, ‘Oh, you hate Israel.’ I hope Hamas gets burned to the ground. I don’t hate my neighbor just because I don’t want to pay his power bill. If they want to buy rockets from us, let’s sell to them. If they want information that we already have, cool."
So he opposes grants and supports sales, and he says the position is about debt rather than about Israel. In June 2026 he restated a broader position of slashing U.S. foreign aid under an America First agenda, and in April 2026 his campaign messaging criticized what it called "Israel First" spending.
His candidacy has been reported on extensively over Nazi-related material in his firearms videos, his ownership of a copy of Mein Kampf, and the incumbent’s description of him. His campaign has rejected the allegations as "bizarre, desperate and false". None of that is a position on what America sends, so the content rule keeps it off the card; it is set out in full on the research page with each party’s words attributed to that party.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2025-10-23 [Current position; card-leading; VERIFIED]: At a campaign meeting in Brewster County, per Israel National News, read in full. He said the United States should not send financial aid abroad "until we have paid our debts down", and: "People think 'Oh, so you support Hamas', 'Oh, you hate Israel.' I hope Hamas gets burned to the ground. I don't hate my neighbor just because I don't want to pay his power bill. If they want to buy rockets from us, let's sell to them. If they want information that we already have, cool."
⚠ **THE GRANTS-VERSUS-SALES DISTINCTION IS THE WHOLE POSITION AND IT IS ON THE CARD.** He opposes U.S. financial aid to Israel and supports selling weapons to Israel. A card that said only "opposes U.S. aid to Israel" would be half right and would read as hostility he explicitly disclaims; one that said he backs arming Israel would drop the aid half.
- 2026-06-25 [Current position]: In an interview he restated a broader position of slashing overall U.S. foreign aid as part of an America First agenda. A blanket position, given as that.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- Nothing located as a distinct position. His debt argument is about foreign aid generally and he does not address Palestinian aid separately.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2025-10-23 [Current position; VERIFIED]: "I hope Hamas gets burned to the ground."
- 2023-11-07 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: He discussed the conflict on an episode of the Painkiller Already podcast following the October 7 attacks. The first search records no specific claim from it.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2025-10-23 [Current position; VERIFIED]: He pushed back against critics who read his aid position as hostility to Israel, using the neighbour's power bill comparison quoted above.
- 2026-04 [Current position]: His campaign messaging criticized conventional foreign aid policy and what it called "Israel First" spending, positioning against Washington pro-Israel lobbying groups. An advocacy newsletter on AIPAC's involvement in the race of 2026-04-30 is among the sources; an advocacy source stays visible here and never carries a card.
- 2026-03-06 to 2026-03-19 [Current position; coverage of the primary]: AP and the Washington Post reported the incumbent's withdrawal and the endorsement fight. The Texas Tribune of 2026-08-05 reported the district being added to a target list.
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends. It is the most heavily reported part of his candidacy, so it is set out here in full, with each claim attributed to whoever made it and none adopted.]
- 2022 [Earlier record]: In a YouTube video he referred to a German submachine gun as "the original ghetto blaster", which drew criticism for referencing wartime Jewish ghettos.
- 2025-03 [Current position]: In a video he posed near a bust of Adolf Hitler as part of historical firearms demonstrations on his channel.
- 2026-03 [Current position]: Media reported he owned a copy of Mein Kampf (Times of Israel, 2026-03-13). He addressed the coverage on a podcast, saying he did not agree with the book's teachings and noting he had previously praised the anti-Nazi journalist Dorothy Thompson.
- 2026-03-07 [Current position]: The Times of Israel reported that the withdrawing incumbent had called him a "known neo-Nazi". That is the incumbent's characterization, reported as his, and it is not adopted here.
- 2026-03 [Current position]: His campaign rejected allegations of antisemitism as "bizarre, desperate and false", said his channel is historical firearms education, and noted he had previously simulated the execution and poisoning of Adolf Hitler in videos.
What came back empty or unusable
- Two YouTube urls carry no retrievable text.
- No position located on U.S. aid to Palestinians.
- One source is an advocacy newsletter about AIPAC in the race.
Also in this race: Katy Padilla Stout (Democrat) · All Texas candidates.
See the full record →But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.