In the future after admitting he had an affair with a staffer who died by suicide, Congressman Tony Gonzales pulled the plug on his re-election marketing campaign.
Gonzales (R-Texas) made the announcement Thursday evening to drop out of the GOP main race in opposition to Brandon Herrera earlier than their Could 26 runoff election.
Hours later, Herrera declared victory and can now transfer on to the final election for Gonzales’ seat in Texas’ twenty third District.
In a press release, Gonzales mentioned after deep reflection with the help of his household, he determined to bail on his marketing campaign, though he vowed to serve out the remainder of his time period.
As you already know, Gonzales got here underneath heavy scrutiny after his staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, died by suicide in September 2025 after setting herself on hearth.
Rumors surfaced that Gonzales — a married father of 6 youngsters — was having an affair with Santos-Aviles — however the congressman publicly denied it.
The San Antonio Categorical-Information then printed textual content messages from Santos-Aviles acknowledging she had an affair with Gonzales. Extra textual content exchanges got here to mild exhibiting Gonzales requested Santos-Aviles to ship him a “attractive pic.”
Gonzales lastly fessed as much as the affair this week on “The Joe Pags Present,” calling it a “mistake” and a “lapse in judgment.”
In the meantime, the Home Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the matter to see if Gonzales violated codes of conduct based mostly on allegations of sexual misconduct and favoritism.