Update: Rep. Tony Gonzales announced March 5 that he was dropping his bid for reelection ahead of an Ethics Committee investigation into his affair with a former staffer.
Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has advanced to a runoff in the Republican primary for the House seat he’s held since 2020, according to Decision Desk HQ, after reports that he sent sexual text messages to a now-deceased former aide.
Gonzales will face off against Brandon Herrera, who narrowly lost to Gonzales two years ago, in a May 26 runoff. Herrera is a right-wing YouTube personality who owns a firearms factory.
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The district is likely to remain Republican, and President Donald Trump has not renounced his December endorsement of Gonzales.
In recent weeks, Gonzales has faced criticism and calls to step down — including from within his own party — over an alleged relationship with a former aide.
The former aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, was the Uvalde district director for Gonzales. Her husband, Adrian Aviles, shared alleged exchanges between her and her boss with the media last week. (The texts have not been independently seen by The 19th.) Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September 2025.
The reported text messages from 2024 show Gonzales pushing conversations with Santos-Aviles into a sexual direction, despite her attempts to deter him. The San Antonio Express-News first reported the content of the text messages, which appear to show an affair.
Gonzales, a married father of six, has denied allegations of an affair.
Aviles told The San Antonio Express-News that he discovered the affair in 2024 and reported it to his wife’s coworkers. The two eventually separated. Aviles said that before her death, his wife was ostracized in the workplace.
Several House Republicans have called for Gonzales to step down from office, protesting sexual abuse and misconduct within their own party. GOP women in particular have taken strong stances.
“Voters are going to have to turn out against him or force him to resign. I don’t know how he goes forward. It was disgusting and shameful, and it’s why many women feel like second-class citizens,” said Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who plans to force a vote this week on a measure that would require the release of records on sexual harassment involving lawmakers. “We’ve just got to say no more.”
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado have also called on Gonzales to resign, as have Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
“A male harassing a female employee — I can’t stomach it, dude,” Burchett said last week when approached by CNN. “I got a wife and a daughter. He needs to go.”
Gonzales represents Texas’ 23rd District, which covers part of the state’s border with Mexico.
