Democrats in Maine recently united to pressure Democratic primary winner Graham Platner off the state party’s ticket after accusations of abuse. Bulwark editor Sam Stein said Republicans have taken a different approach when faced with controversial candidates, arguing that the party more often defends them, doubles down, or avoids questions altogether.

“There is like a real thing going on here, which is that there's a number of Republican candidates for office who have been caught saying depraved things, committing alleged acts of violence, doing the type of stuff after a few weeks ago, the entire political universe … said Graham Platner was unacceptable for public office because he was alleged to have done similar things,” Stein said.

Stein then pointed to Brandon Herrera, the Republican candidate running in Texas’ 23rd District. The example put the comparison in electoral terms as well as rhetorical ones: Herrera is described not only as a past speaker of inflammatory comments but as the party’s nominee in a competitive House race.

“So, yeah, Trump has endorsed this guy. It's kind of, it's a, toss-up district in Texas, so it's not like this is a safe seat. It's kind of crazy that he's not being thrown or being pushed out by Republicans,” Stein told Will Sommer, writer of the False Flag Newsletter and a co-host.

Herrera’s past remarks cited by the Bulwark included a statement that he counts as “an honorary veteran” because “I often think about putting a gun in my mouth.”

The Bulwark also cited comments Herrera made in a rant directed at gun reform advocate Shannon Watts, a mother of five, in which the YouTuber described Watts’ children as body fluid trophies and made other sexually explicit references.

The remarks about children led Bulwark staff to approach Republican lawmakers and ask for their responses to Herrera’s comments. Their questions focused less on Herrera’s broader campaign than on whether elected Republicans would directly reject the specific language attributed to him.

“Congressman, quick Texas question,” a reporter said while catching U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Capitol Hill.

“Real quick,” Roy replied.

“Representative Brandon Herrera, who's a Republican nominee for House seat in Texas, has called babies [explicit] trophies. I was wondering if you agree with that?” the reporter asked.

“I—I gotta go. I don’t want to talk about it,” Roy said as he moved away.

The Bulwark reporter then approached another Texas Republican lawmaker, who was moving too quickly to be easily identified.

“Just in your home state, Brandon Herrera has referred to babies as [explicit] trophies. I was wondering if you shared that assessment,” the reporter said.

The reporter also asked U.S. Rep. Roy Nehls about Herrera.

“Congressman, in your home state, there's a Republican, Brandon Herrera, running for the House who's referred to babies as [explicit] trophies. I was just wondering if you—,” the reporter said.

“I got nothing for you,” Nehls appeared to respond while puffing a cigar.

Stein said the exchanges fit a broader pattern. Sitting members of Congress Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Max Miller (R-Ohio) continue to face domestic abuse allegations, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has also avoided direct criticism when asked about the issue, according to Stein. In that framing, the issue was not limited to one Texas candidate but to how party leaders and lawmakers respond when misconduct allegations or offensive comments involve Republicans rather than Democrats.

“Well, the key word there is allegation,” Johnson said when asked about Republican hypocrisy following Platner’s removal. “We have a process here. The House Ethics Committee works on those things. If allegations are made, they work through a process. So, I'm not in the business of commenting on investigations as they're in process. And we'll see how that shakes out. That's how this always works.”

“It’s a dodge,” Sommer said.