You’ve probably been hearing the name Tony Gonzales a lot over the past couple of weeks. 

The Texas Republican represents the Lone Star state’s largest congressional district, and is running for reelection in a seat the GOP is desperate to hold onto given their razor-thin House majority. But Gonzales, who is married with six children, has been accused of having an affair with a former staffer, who later died by suicide. Though the allegations are not new, the scandal has resurfaced with new details over the past month, prompting calls for his resignation from members of Gonzales’ own party. 

The Office of Congressional Conduct has conducted — and concluded — an investigation into the alleged affair. But the results will remain out of the public eye for now. The Texas primary is March 3, and the office is prohibited from releasing any report involving alleged misconduct by a member to the House Ethics Committee within 60 days of an election involving that congressmember.

Here are five points to get you caught up on the ongoing scandal.

The Initial Allegations Against Gonzales

Earlier this month, allegations of an affair between Gonzales and his former regional district director, Regina Santos-Aviles, resurfaced after an unnamed ex-staffer in Gonzales’ office told the San Antonio Express-News that Santos-Aviles said she had an affair with the congressman in 2024.

The ex-staffer also provided the outlet with an alleged text message from Santos-Aviles in which she said she “had an affair with our boss.” The ex-staffer said that Santos-Aviles also told him that she spiraled into a depression after her husband,  Adrian Aviles, discovered the relationship and Gonzales abruptly cut off contact.

Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire in front of her house, according to the county medical examiner.

The congressman previously denied the allegations of an affair between him and Santos-Aviles months ago, calling them “completely untruthful.”

And last week, in a statement to CNN, Gonzales again denied the affair, saying his chief primary opponent, YouTuber and gun advocate Brandon Herrera, is trying to attack him ahead of the GOP primary.

“It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started,” Gonzales said. “I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.” 

And Some More…

This week, new allegations become public. Newly revealed text messages from May 2024 — first published by the San Antonio Express-News and also obtained by the New York Post and The Texas Tribune — between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles allegedly show the congressman asked his then-aide to send him a “sexy pic.”

After Santos-Aviles allegedly declined the request, the congressman asked her about her “favorite position,” according to the Tribune. She replied asking for his first, which he allegedly replied to saying “on top pinning your legs.”

“This is going too far boss,” she allegedly replied, according to several outlets.

TPM has not independently verified the text messages.

The day before the text messages were published by several media outlets, Gonzales took to social media just before 4 a.m., calling the allegations against him “coordinated political attacks.”

During my six years in Congress not a single formal complaint has been levied against my office. Now days away from an election, coordinated political attacks reign in. IT WONT WORK. Half way through early voting and the intensity resides w/ TG voters. I’d rather be us than them.

— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) February 22, 2026

Gonzales’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the recent allegations against the congressman.

A few weeks after the text exchange, Aviles allegedly discovered the affair between his wife and the congressman, according to the Texas Tribune.

Aviles and his wife, who had a son together, separated after the affair came to light. Following the separation, Santos-Aviles began to spiral, struggling with alcohol and threatening self-harm — including an incident where she called Aviles while holding a gun at her head, according to law enforcement documents obtained by the Texas Tribune.

In mid September, Santos-Aviles texted a friend, alleging that Aviles was romantically involved with her best friend, according to the Texas Tribune. She then poured gasoline on herself and sent a video of the act to her friend, asking him to tell Aviles to “have fun raising our son.”

Johnson Enters the Chat

The new allegations were not enough for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to pull his endorsement from the Texas congressman.

Johnson called the allegations “very serious,” adding that he spoke to Gonzales and told him he has “got to address it with his constituents.”

But seemingly aware of the fact that he is barely holding on to his majority in the House, Johnson did not call on Gonzales to resign or pull his previous endorsement for his reelection campaign.

“You have to allow the investigations to play out and all the facts to come out,” Johnson added. “You have to let the system play out … If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus test for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, we’ll have a lot of people who would have to resign or be removed or expelled from Congress.”

Still Some House Republicans Pushback

At least five House Republicans have called on Gonzales to resign amid the mounting allegations.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called on Gonzales to resign from office, saying the new allegations “seemingly show a perverted boss drunkenly coercing a vulnerable staffer into explicit conversations, pressing her for ‘sexy pics,’ asking about her favorite sexual positions.”

“This kind of abuse of power has no place anywhere, let alone in Congress, and Tony Gonzales should be ashamed and RESIGN IMMEDIATELY!” Boebert said.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) also chimed in on social media, saying “the entire Texas delegation, as well as every single other Member of Congress, should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff.”

“As a woman, this is really disgusting to see,” Luna continued. “Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) also condemned the alleged texts, saying Congress should “have ZERO tolerance for those who abuse their power over others.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) has called on Gonzales to drop his reelection campaign.

America deserves better.

Tony should drop out of the race. https://t.co/djJJVu7dJm

— Brandon Gill (@realBrandonGill) February 23, 2026

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of Trump’s chief antagonists in Congress, urged his colleague to “resign immediately” and poked at the president “for making terrible endorsements” of people like Gonzales. (President Donald Trump previously endorsed Gonzales in December but has not weighed in since the new allegations emerged.)

Gonzales’ office did not respond to a request for comment on the recent calls for his resignation.

Primary Dynamics

The Republican primary is set for March 3 — just a week from today —- but early voting has already started. Gonzales, who is running for his fourth term in Congress, faces a tough primary contest from three challengers: Herrera, Keith Barton and Francisco Canseco.

His biggest competition is Herrera, a far-right pro-gun influencer known as “the AK guy.” Herrera is already being backed by the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus and by several far-right House members, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Boebert.

The two faced off for the same seat back in 2024, with Gonzales beating Herrera by just a few hundred votes.