TX Republican drops reelection bid amid pressure over affair scandal

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, dropped out of his primary runoff Thursday, heeding calls from House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP members to end his reelection bid amid revelations that he had an affair with an aide who died by suicide.

“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 posted on social media. “Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful.”

The third-term congressman admitted the affair on Wednesday, the day after he finished second to challenger Brandon Herrera in the Republican primary for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. Gonzales initially denied rumors of the affair, and resisted calls to drop out or resign after the San Antonio Express-News published a text in which the aide acknowledged the affair. Explicit texts between Gonzales and his then-aide came to light soon after, showing the congressman asking for a “sexy pic” and persisting despite her assertion he had gone “too far.”

The House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”

Gonzales’ departure from the runoff means Herrera, a gun rights activist and YouTuber challenging the more moderate incumbent from his right, will be the Republican nominee in the sprawling border district. Herrera ran against Gonzales in 2024, forcing a runoff that he lost by less than 400 votes.

This time, Herrera went into the runoff in first place. While Gonzales received more early and absentee votes, according to unofficial returns, Herrera outperformed Gonzales on election day, suggesting that news of the scandal was resonating with voters.

A Navy veteran from San Antonio, Gonzales was first elected to the House in 2020 in a close race against now-San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones. While a reliable conservative, Gonzales is regarded as the most moderate Republican member of the Texas delegation, having voted to certify the 2020 election, establish a January 6 Commission and codify federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriage.

Gonzales also voted for a bipartisan gun safety bill in the wake of the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, which he represents; that vote has been a flashpoint in each of the last two primaries, with Herrera criticizing the vote and vowing to take a hard line on preserving gun rights if elected.

He had been an outspoken voice in the Republican conference on border security and immigration, representing a significant swath of the border. He helped organize support for the successful push to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden administration.

But he has at times cautioned the Trump administration to keep its deportation focus on hardened criminals. In 2024, he referred to some of his fellow Republicans as “scumbags” and klansmen. And he’s sparred with some of the furthest-right members of the conference, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, over hardline immigration proposals.

Gonzales initially had the support of House GOP leadership in his reelection bid, as well as that of President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he did not have in 2024. But Johnson, R-Louisiana, and other high-ranking House Republicans, including National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, called on Gonzales to withdraw from the runoff Thursday.

Trump has not weighed in on the 23rd District primary since news of the scandal broke. He congratulated Gonzales during a rally in Corpus Christi days before the primary — without specifying what he was congratulating him about — and omitted Gonzales when he reposted all of his endorsements in Texas’s congressional primaries that same day.

Numerous members of the Texas delegation had called on Gonzales to drop out of his race, including GOP Reps. Monica De La Cruz, Brandon Gill and Chip Roy. Neighboring Rep. Veronica Escobar, an El Paso Democrat, had called on Gonzales to resign.

But Gonzales has said he intends to stay in Congress, arguing that his vote is too important to the work of the Republican majority, and Trump’s agenda, to lose. Republicans currently maintain a 218-214 majority in the U.S. House, meaning they can only afford to lose one Republican on any given party-line vote with full attendance.

De La Cruz has also called on Gonzales to step down from his chairmanship role of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, of which they are both members.

The situation has a recent analogue in Texas political history. In 2022, then-Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, was headed to a runoff after finishing with 49% of the vote in his primary. But the next day, he withdrew from the race, admitting to an affair that had been revealed in Breitbart News the day before the primary. Second-place finisher Keith Self became the nominee and has represented the district since 2023.

Democrats have been eyeing the 23rd District, which is majority-Hispanic and voted for Trump by a 15-point margin in 2024, especially as the scandal around Gonzales has intensified. But they see an opportunity to pick up the seat regardless, as signs abound of Latino voters souring on Trump and the Republican Party after shifting dramatically to the right in 2024.

Herrera, backed by the hard-right House Freedom Caucus’ political arm, has a history of controversial behavior and edgy humor. In 2024, Jewish Insider reported that he had included Nazi imagery, songs and jokes on his YouTube channel. And the outlet also reported he was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which promotes Lost Cause ideology.

Herrera has said it is “obvious” he is not a neo-Nazi, while Gonzales has referred to him as a “known neo-Nazi.”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

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