Brandon Herrera, the Republican candidate for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, has offered voters a fresh reminder that “The AK Guy” persona does not magically become congressional material. In a resurfaced clip from The Josie Show, Herrera joked that animal shelters could send unadopted kittens to “the local Chinese restaurant,” reviving a racist and thoroughly debunked stereotype about Chinese people and pet consumption.
The comments were made during a podcast appearance last year and began recirculating on social media on October 21, 2026, just as Herrera campaigns against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout for a U.S. House seat.
The conversation began when the host, known as The Redheaded Libertarian, described rescuing a kitten and returning for its three siblings after learning they were on an animal shelter’s euthanasia list. She said she arranged for a rescue organisation to find the kittens homes.
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Herrera started with a seemingly uncontroversial point about animals being put down unnecessarily, then immediately reached for the cheapest possible joke.
Texas Republican candidate Brandon Herrera on unadopted kittens facing euthanasia:
“I hate to see animals put down for no reason. Like, the very bare minimum, they could at least collaborate with the local Chinese restaurant and some sort of like— Don’t let it go to waste.” https://t.co/8FetJNwU4V
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) October 21, 2026
“I hate to see animals put down for no reason,” Herrera said during the conversation.
He then added: “Like, the very bare minimum, they could at least collaborate with the local Chinese restaurant and some sort of like— Don’t let it go to waste, you know?”
There it is: a congressional candidate responding to a story about saving vulnerable animals by implying that Chinese restaurants eat cats. It is not edgy, not clever, and not a misunderstanding of animal welfare policy; it is a lazy invocation of an anti-Asian stereotype.
Herrera is running to represent Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout in the November 3 election. The seat became open after incumbent Tony Gonzales withdrew from the race, and Herrera secured the Republican nomination with backing from President Donald Trump.
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This is not the first time Herrera’s past remarks have become a campaign liability. His online comments have already drawn scrutiny during the race, and this clip fits neatly into a pattern: provocative content first, basic decency and political judgment somewhere further down the list.
Herrera may want voters to see the clip as harmless banter. But a man asking to write federal law should probably be able to discuss animal shelters without reaching for a racist cliché about Chinese restaurants. Texans are being asked to choose a representative, not a podcast bit that aged badly the moment it left his mouth.
