Comedian John Oliver criticized Brandon Herrera, the Republican candidate for Texas' 23rd Congressional District, on Monday's episode of HBO's Last Week Tonight. Oliver focused on a widely circulated video from Herrera's gun-focused YouTube channel. In the video, Herrera reviews a German World War II-era submachine gun and calls it the "original ghetto blaster" and "Hitler's stress sweeper." Oliver said the Republican Party has become too comfortable with what he described as Nazi-adjacent content. The video also shows Herrera and an associate marching in a goose-step to a song popular during the Nazi era.
Herrera has faced scrutiny over a series of remarks and videos. They include a podcast revelation that he owns an original copy of Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf. He has also been criticized for degrading comments about overweight women, jokes about veteran suicides and a crude term he used for children.
Herrera is running against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, a former public school teacher. Her campaign has focused on Gov. Greg Abbott's voucher program and the affordability crisis. She has also criticized a video in which Herrera fires bullets into cutouts of children near the site of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde. Early voting continues through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. Bexar County's elections department website has polling location and hour information.