Texas Representative Tony Gonzales Will Not Seek Re-election

Several House members had called for Tony Gonzales to step down after texts emerged showing his pursuit of a staff member who later killed herself.

Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican accused of coercing a staff member into a sexual relationship before she killed herself, said on Thursday he would not seek re-election amid growing bipartisan outcry from fellow House members.

Mr. Gonzales’s decision to bow out of the race came in the midst of a fierce primary fight that has been overshadowed by text messages that emerged showing his pursuit of the female staff member, Regina Santos-Aviles.

“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,” he said in a statement late Thursday.

Ms. Santos-Aviles worked for Mr. Gonzales at a district office in Uvalde, Texas, when he sent her “sexual texts” in 2024 and sought a relationship with her, according to a lawyer for her husband, Bobby Barrera, who reviewed the texts. A fellow staff member, who worked with Ms. Santos-Aviles in the Uvalde office, shared a text exchange with The New York Times in which Ms. Santos-Aviles told the co-worker of an “affair with our boss.”

Ms. Santos-Aviles killed herself in September 2025, according to the Uvalde Police Department.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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