Tony Gonzales has admitted to having an affair with his employee. Image: keystone
After several scandals, Tony Gonzales wanted to run again as a Texas representative – but even his own colleagues advised him against it.
March 6, 2026, 3:50 p.mMarch 6, 2026, 3:50 p.m
Tony Gonzales is a Republican representative from the US state of Texas. The 50-year-old recently made headlines because one of his employees committed suicide. Attention fell on him because the two had an affair before her death. Now, after much back and forth, the politician has announced the end of his campaign.
Gonzales published a post on X on Friday in which he wrote:
“After careful consideration and with the support of my family, I have decided not to run for re-election.”
This comes after Republican leadership in Congress called on Gonzales on Thursday to end his re-election campaign. This was because an ethics investigation had been prepared against Gonzales. The aim was to investigate whether the politician was “guilty of sexual misconduct” towards one of his employees.
This suspicion arose because his employee Regina Santos-Aviles committed suicide after the two had an affair. For a long time, the married father of six children denied his relationship with the employee, who was also married. He dismissed the allegations as “blackmail” and a “coordinated attack.”
35-year-old set herself on fire
But on Wednesday the turning point came and Gonzales admitted the relationship with Santos-Aviles. At the same time, he opposed the idea that he had anything to do with the 35-year-old’s death. Loud CBS Regina Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire near her home in Texas. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide.
Regina Santos-Aviles was 15 years younger than Tony Gonzales.Image: Facebook
To give his perspective, Gonzales spoke with conservative podcaster Joe Pags on Wednesday. There he said: “I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic death. I was just as shocked as everyone else.” He also said that Santos-Aviles was doing “very well” at her job. But he explained that he had made a mistake and said: “I asked God for forgiveness, which he gave me.”
Tony Gonzales has been a member of the US House of Representatives for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas since January 2021. After a 20-year career in the US Navy, he made a career in federal politics, won the contested congressional mandate in 2020 and sits on the Budget and Homeland Security Committees, among other things.