For more on Rep. Tony Gonzales’ re-election fight, tune into “Inside Politics with Manu Raju” on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
CNN
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Rep. Tony Gonzalez called his Republican opponent in Texas a “neo-Nazi” and an “anarchist” who wants to “burn this place down,” and said the GOP hardliners trying to oust him are “assholes” and MAGA wannabes.
The two-term Republican congressman from Texas said in an interview with CNN that the outcome of Tuesday’s runoff election against gun activist Brandon Herrera will send a clear message to Republicans amid a bitter intraparty fight that has removed the speaker, stalled the party’s agenda and left relations in turmoil across the House Republican Conference.
“Are we going to be the party that governs in a conservative way and gets things done,” Gonzalez said, “or are we going to be the party that has clowns that come in here and say crazy, crazy, outrageous things and want to burn this place down?”
Gonzalez’s runoff election highlights sharp divisions in the narrowly divided House of Representatives, where far-right lawmakers have grown more emboldened and willing to derail party policies at any hint of compromise with Democrats. That fight is playing out in Republican primaries across the country, the outcome of which will have a major impact on the direction of the House Republican Conference and the policies it pursues in the next Congress. Gonzalez’s race is at the epicenter of that conflict.
Gonzales’ district includes the city of Uvalde, where one of the worst school shootings in history took place two years ago. Gonzales subsequently voted for a bipartisan gun control bill that became a centerpiece of Herrera’s anti-Herrera campaign. “I don’t regret my vote at all,” Gonzales said.
“Something has to change,” he said, noting that his constituents are clamoring for action and that even his own children wear bulletproof backpacks to school. “This is not fair.”
But it was that vote that sparked a backlash from the right, as his actions during tense GOP immigration talks last year — and how some hard-line Republicans have not forgotten — and Mr. Gonzalez’s insults only infuriated his GOP critics.
“He’s a RINO establishment moderate who is being pushed out of office by voters who are voting for Brandon Herrera,” said Rep. Bob Good, leader of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and whom Gonzalez called one of Congress’ “scumbags.”
Gonzalez said if he wins Tuesday, he plans to do the same in Goode’s district and in the district of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has endorsed Herrera and led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy from the House of Representatives last fall. Gonzalez said after Tuesday he will work to oust lawmakers who have engaged in misconduct within his party.
“I’m going to be spending a lot of time in Pensacola,” Gonzalez said, referring to Gaetz’s northern Florida city. “I’m also going to be spending a lot of time in Virginia and a few other places. So I think my campaign is just getting started. You could give me your all and you’re not going to beat me. You’re not going to. You can’t.”
Herrera declined to be interviewed for this story.
Gonzalez’s sprawling district, which straddles the Mexican border, has been one of the most expensive congressional primaries in the country, with nearly $8 million spent on television advertising. His situation is part of a larger trend among House Republicans to try to oust colleagues in primaries, something that has long been seen as a major violation of convention.
“Shooting in a tent is never a good thing,” said Gonzalez, 43, a military veteran who has served in Congress since 2021.
So far, far-right candidates have not been able to defeat moderate opponents in this election. An attempt to oust Republican Rep. Don Bacon in Nebraska failed earlier this month when he defeated Goode-backed conservative challenger Dan Frye. In Illinois, Republican Rep. Mike Bost won after Gaetz tried to back his opponent. The dispute prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to urge former President Donald Trump to intervene on Bost’s behalf.
In South Carolina, members of the House Freedom Caucus are backing state Rep. Adam Morgan, a conservative who is seeking to defeat Rep. William Timmons in the June 11 primary. In Virginia, center-right Republicans and McCarthy are seeking revenge by helping McCarthy before Republican candidate John Maguire faces Good in the June 18 primary. Good was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy last fall.
Republicans who support Gonzalez are optimistic ahead of Tuesday’s election, but low turnout in runoff elections means they are vulnerable in these races.
“It would just make the House even more dysfunctional,” Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said of a potential Herrera win. “I don’t see him being a productive member of Congress. I think he would be a source of chaos.”
Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee, added, “Republicans should focus on beating the Democrats and increasing their majority. There’s always concern when an incumbent faces a runoff, but I’m confident Tony will win.”
Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio said he found it “sickening” that Gaetz was targeting Gonzalez.
“There are over 200 Republicans that I have to work with every day,” Miller said. “What does that mean when you’re in an environment where you have to work with somebody on legislation that’s going to move the country forward in a practical and sensible way, and they’re literally trying to remove you and replace you because you’re not hardcore enough?”
Gonzalez’s vote in favor of gun control legislation enacted in response to the Uvalde school shooting in 2022 has put him at odds with hard-line Republicans. He also clashed with the right wing of House Republicans negotiating an immigration bill, but voted for the final version. And in 2022, Texas Republicans voted with the minority of House members in favor of same-sex marriage legislation.
“Tony Gonzales said the tough border security we wanted was un-Christian, but his constituents don’t see it that way,” Gaetz said. Asked about Gonzales calling him a “scumbag,” Gaetz replied, “So your personal insults to me aren’t going to solve any of the issues for the voters of Texas.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who sparred with Gonzalez over the border bill, said he would remain neutral in the primary. Asked about Gonzalez, Roy said, “I don’t think what he’s saying is very helpful.”
One of those comments – calling his critics “scumbags” – “really upset” Republican Rep. Eli Klain of Arizona, who supported Herrera and called Gonzalez’s comments “inappropriate for the conference” and “garbage.”
“The House Freedom Caucus is largely conservative and at odds with the moderates on Capitol Hill,” Klain told CNN. “We’re outnumbered. … That’s why the voters sent me to try to change the way things are done in this city. I don’t think someone like Tony can do that.”
Gonzalez said he would not back down from his harsh comments about his Republican colleagues.
“They’re not all good citizens, they’re not all contributing members of society. Some of them are the worst. I’ve named some of them. There are probably loads more like them,” Gonzalez said, without naming the others.
He added: “There are people campaigning around the country who are not MAGA people. Bob Good is not a MAGA person who is supporting my opponent, and there are others who are basically liberals or anarchists or just want to see this place burn down.”
Gonzalez was in El Paso when he got a text message about the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. He drove to Uvalde that night after speaking with the local sheriff.
Two years later, Gonzalez believes a lot needs to change, but he also claims there have been positive developments.
“What I learned is that even if I do everything they want, it’s not enough. I will never give in to these people. I will always do what I think is right,” Gonzalez said.
Herrera, a gun rights activist who runs a YouTube channel with millions of subscribers, is using Gonzalez’s votes on gun control bills as part of his campaign to oust him in the runoff election, arguing that they violate the Second Amendment.
But Gonzalez said that following the Uvalde massacre, “people have been calling nonstop.”
“The call was, ‘Tony, I need to do something, but please don’t take my gun away,'” he said.
In the end, the bill stopped short of restricting weapons or implementing universal background checks, but it did pass a compromise that approved grants for states to enforce “red flag” laws, included funding for school safety and mental health programs, expanded background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21, and strengthened penalties for gun trafficking.
Gonzalez said he “received a lot of criticism” for his endorsement.
“Crazy people shouldn’t have access to guns, that’s all,” he said.
“Across the board, people are angry, and they have a reason to be angry,” Gonzalez said of voters, “but after they get angry, are they going to quell their anger by burning things? Or are they going to help quell that anger by delivering results? That’s the question, not just in this election, but in other elections across the country.”
CNN’s Shedden Tesfaldet and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this story.
