In the span of a single day, a scandal that had been circling U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales effectively ended his political future. On March 5, 2026, the San Antonio Republican announced he will not seek reelection and said he will serve out the rest of his current term. The move came less than 24 hours after Gonzales publicly admitted to an affair with a former regional director in his Uvalde office, Regina Santos-Aviles, whose death by self-immolation last year has now triggered an ethics review and escalating fallout across South Texas, as reported by AP News.
Gonzales broke the news in a statement on X, writing, "After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek reelection," adding that he would continue representing his district through the end of the term. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Republican leaders had already been pressing him to step aside following word that the Office of Congressional Ethics had opened a probe into his conduct, according to AP News.
The affair itself was acknowledged during an appearance on the conservative "Joe Pags Show," where Gonzales called the relationship "a mistake" and "a lapse in judgment" and said he had reconciled with his wife, The Texas Tribune reported. His on-air admission followed weeks of reporting on text messages and other material that had already put him under a microscope and helped spur the ethics inquiry.
The San Antonio Express-News published screenshots of messages it said were sent from Santos-Aviles' phone, including an April 2025 line that read, "I had (sic) affair with our boss," along with later exchanges the paper says show Gonzales asking her to send explicit photos. In September 2025, Santos-Aviles poured gasoline on herself outside her Uvalde home and died the next day. The Bexar County medical examiner ruled her death a suicide by self-immolation. Hoodline also covered the Uvalde aide's self-immolation and its aftermath last year.
Politically, the scandal detonated right in the middle of primary season. Gonzales had failed to win a majority in the March 3 primary, forcing a May 26 runoff against gun-rights activist Brandon Herrera. His decision to bow out effectively hands Herrera the Republican nomination and sets up a November showdown with Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, according to CBS News.
Ethics Probe and Political Fallout
The House Ethics Committee has launched a formal investigation into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward a congressional employee or provided any special favors, and House leaders have urged the panel to move quickly. Republican leadership has stopped short of calling for his immediate resignation, in part because the party holds a razor-thin majority in the chamber, a calculation that has shaped their public push for Gonzales to exit the race instead, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Gonzales has said he will cooperate with investigators and has repeatedly denied having any role in his former staffer's death, while conceding that the relationship itself was wrong. He has told interviewers that he accepts responsibility for his actions and has asked for forgiveness, CBS News reported. With the incumbent now out of the running and filing deadlines already passed, the political landscape in Texas' 23rd Congressional District has been swiftly and dramatically reshaped ahead of November.
