Rep. R-Texas, R-Texas. Tony Gonzales announced Thursday night that he was dropping his bid for re-election but would serve out the rest of his term in Congress after weeks of uproar over a congressman who admitted to having an affair with an aide who later committed suicide.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving the remainder of this Congress with the same commitment I have always had to my district,” Gonzalez said in a statement at X.
NBC News has reached out to Gonzales’ congressional office for additional comment.
Republican leadership condemned Gonzales earlier Thursday, with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who leads the razor-thin GOP majority in the House, calling for him to retire at the end of his term but not resign outright.
Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain urged the Ethics Committee to “act quickly” in a joint statement Thursday.
“We have encouraged him to address these serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from the re-election race,” he said.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, RN.C., echoed the statement: “Tony should withdraw from the runoff and allow the ethics process to continue while he focuses on his family and serving his constituents for the rest of his term.”
The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it would open an investigation.
A different agency, the Office of Congressional Conduct, led the investigation into Gonzales and is set to deliver its results to the Ethics Committee on Wednesday. The office could not send the results earlier because the investigation was completed within 60 days of Gonzales’ primary day in Texas.
Whether or not the results of the Ethics Committee’s investigation will be published will come down to its completion. The committee only investigates sitting lawmakers, so the investigation could come to a sudden halt if it’s still ongoing when Gonzales’ term ends.
Gonzales ran for re-election against pro-gun candidate Brandon Herrera. Neither of them received more than 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, forcing Gonzalez into a runoff scheduled for May 26.
Gonzalez appeared in a podcast interview Wednesday to admit to his relationship with former aide Regina Santos-Aviles: “I made a mistake and I lapse in judgment. And there was a lack of trust and I take full responsibility for those actions.”
Gonzales later added that he and his wife had “reconciled.”
NBC News reported that Gonzales and Santos-Aviles exchanged sexual texts in 2024. Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrian Aviles, reviewed the texts.
Gonzales’ decision to serve out the rest of his term is crucial for House Republicans, who have bled this congressman. They only have a four-seat majority over Democrats, meaning they can only afford to lose one member on party-line votes.
