Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales announced Thursday he will not seek reelection to his congressional seat, ending his campaign days after publicly confessing to an extramarital affair with a former staffer who died by self-immolation.
Gonzales, 45, had for months denied any romantic involvement with Regina Aviles, the staffer at the center of the allegations.
Aviles died in September after setting herself on fire.
The Daily Mail first reported on the relationship between Gonzales and Aviles in October 2025, months before the congressman acknowledged the affair publicly.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek reelection while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” Gonzales said in a statement.
Gonzales acknowledged the affair one day after his primary election and described it as a “mistake” and a “lapse in judgement,” Resist the Mainstream reported earlier this week.
“I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.
“Since then, I have reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has. And my faith is as strong as ever.”
His public admission followed the House Ethics Committee’s announcement of a formal investigation into his conduct, triggered by a report from the Office of Congressional Conduct indicating “substantial reason to believe” Gonzales had engaged in the affair, per reports.
Congressional rules prohibit members from having affairs with subordinates.
Sexually charged text messages between Gonzales and Aviles had previously been released, showing the married congressman requesting inappropriate photographs from his staffer and asking about her sexual preferences.
Hours before Gonzales announced he would not seek reelection, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership issued a joint statement calling on him to withdraw from the race.
“Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” Johnson said in the statement.
“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues.”
When pressed about Gonzales’ admission, Johnson noted that marital infidelity is not a criminal offense. “I’m not going to get into private conversations,” Johnson told Punchbowl News. “But I’ve told him to be forthright. Apparently now he’s doing that.”
Because no candidate cleared the majority threshold, Gonzales had been scheduled to face fellow Republican Brandon Herrera in a May 26 runoff election.
Herrera, who came close to defeating Gonzales in the 2024 GOP primary, outpaced the incumbent by nearly 1,000 votes in Tuesday’s contest.
Approximately two hours after Gonzales released his Thursday night statement, Herrera declared himself the winner of the Texas race.
“I appreciate Tony Gonzales for making the appropriate decision,” Herrera wrote on X, adding: “I look forward to being the voice of TX23 that our district deserves.”
“From the border, to oil theft, water rights, data centers, and many other issues. It’s an honor to be chosen and together we will make Texas proud.”
