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Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) announced Thursday night he will no longer seek re-election – one day after he admitted he had an extramarital affair with a staffer who later fatally set herself on fire.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” Gonzales said in a statement announcing he was dropping out of his upcoming runoff race.
“Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful,” the congressman added.
Gonzales, 45, has faced mounting calls to resign from Congress, even from within his own party, since text messages surfaced last month showing the married father of six pressed staffer Regina Santos-Aviles for “sexy” images.
Gonzales took “full responsibility” on Wednesday for “a lack of faith,” in an interview on “The Joe Pags Show.”
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment,” Gonzales said a day after Tuesday’s Republican House primary election.
Gonzales failed to receive a majority of the votes in Texas’s 23rd District GOP primary. He was slated to face fellow Republican Brandon Herrera in a May 26 runoff election.
Herrera, who nearly beat Gonzales in the 2024 GOP primary, received nearly 1,000 more votes than the incumbent Tuesday night.
The House Ethics Committee is also investigating Gonzales over the claims that he “engaged in sexual misconduct” with a staffer and “discriminated unfairly” by “dispensing special favors or privileges.”
Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old married mom of one, set herself on fire in the backyard of her Uvalde home on Sept. 13, 2025. She died the following day of the severe burns she suffered.
Her widower, Adrian Aviles, has charged that Gonzales “abused his power” by engaging in the affair with his subordinate.
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