WASHINGTON — Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales announced Thursday night that he was withdrawing his reelection bid after admitting to an affair with a former aide who later committed suicide, but he vowed to finish his term in Congress.
The Republican Party leadership had asked him to end his re-election campaign and other members of Congress called for his resignation.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family“I have decided not to run for re-election,” Gonzales said in a statement published late Thursday on the social network X.
This decision is the latest in a rapid succession of events which shocked the Capitol and prompted the opening of a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. Gonzales’ announcement to abandon the race seems to clear the ground. Tuesday’s primary results determined a runoff, scheduled for May, against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun rights influencer on YouTube whom he narrowly beat in the 2024 primary.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and the leadership of the Republican Party had called for Gonzales’ withdrawal earlier on Thursday, after the politician acknowledged the day before a relationship that shook the political landscape both in his state and in Washington.
“We have encouraged him to directly address these serious allegations with his constituents and colleagues,” Johnson said in a statement; Majority Leader Steve Scalise; the chief of discipline Tom Emmer, and the president of the Republican Conference, Lisa McClain.
“Meanwhile, leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his re-election race,” the note added.
Johnson, R-Louisiana, faced enormous pressure from his own lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans called for Gonzales to step aside. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican representative from Florida, presented two resolutions to punish Gonzales: one to remove him from his positions on the Appropriations and Homeland Security committees and another to reprimand him.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York indicated he would support Gonzales’ expulsion, a rare move that requires a two-thirds majority of the floor.
But Republican leadership did not call for Gonzales’ resignation at a time when they are clinging to a slim majority, just a few seats, in the House.
His decision came after, in an appearance on the “Joe Pags Show,” Gonzales was asked if he had been in a relationship with consultant Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.
Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting himself on fire in the backyard of his home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Coroner’s Office later determined his death was a suicide.
“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.
The congressman, who is in his third term, had said he would not resign in response to the accusations, and recently told reporters that there will be an opportunity for all the details and facts to come to light.
Gonzales, a father of six, first won his seat in 2020 after 20 years in the Navy that saw him spend time in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the interview, aired Wednesday, Gonzales stated that he had not spoken to Santos-Aviles since June 2024. The woman died in September 2025.
“I had absolutely nothing to do with his tragic death and, in fact, I was as surprised as everyone else,” Gonzales said.
He added that he has reconciled with his wife, Angel, and has asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee’s investigation.
Johnson and Republican leadership urged that committee to “act quickly.”
According to House of Representatives ethics rules, lawmakers cannot have a sexual relationship with any House employee under their supervision.
