A couple nights ago, I wrote about two members of the Republican Party handing in their retirement notices. It was glorious schadenfreude to see them slink away to the exits unceremoniously. Now three more GOP members of Congress are either retiring or changing their re-election plans because the Republican label is so toxic.
Retirement #33: Rep. Tony Gonzales of TX-23!
Texas Republican congressman Tony Gonzales has dropped his re-election bid after admitting an affair, which he had previously denied, with a staff member who died by suicide.
The decision comes after the most senior members of his party in Congress released a statement calling for him to end his campaign.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election,” he said in a statement posted to X.
It also comes as lawmakers prepare an ethics investigation into Gonzales, and days after he failed to convince voters to back him for the party’s nomination ahead of the mid-term congressional elections.
On Thursday, the Republican leadership in Congress said Gonzales should end his re-election campaign.
“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said a joint statement from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and congresswoman Lisa McClain.
On Wednesday, the married father-of-six confirmed he had had a relationship with married staff member Regina Santos-Aviles.
Gonzales had previously dismissed the allegations as “blackmail” and a “co-ordinated” attack to unseat him.
Hours before his admission, the House Ethics Committee announced it was launching an investigation into whether Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct” towards one of his employees.
Retirement #34: Rep. Darrell Issa of CA-48!
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just three months after declaring “I’m not quitting,” California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced Friday he is retiring instead of facing a difficult reelection campaign in a redrawn district.
“It’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges,” Issa said in a statement.
“Serving in Congress has been the honor of my life.”
Issa, a car alarm magnate considered one of the wealthiest members of Congress, had been a chief antagonist for President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while he served as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa’s abrupt reversal injects more uncertainty in the race for Southern California’s 48th District, which was drastically reshaped in November after voters approved a new U.S. House map for California to favor Democrats.
With an incumbent out of the running, it may be harder for Republicans to hold the seat and, by extension, the party’s fragile majority in the House.
After redistricting, Issa flirted with the idea of leaving California to run for Congress in Texas. But he decided to stay put in his home state.
“I can hold this seat. I’m not quitting on California and neither should anyone else,” Issa, who represents a district anchored in San Diego County, said in a statement at the time.
That’s right, we won’t have the car thief to kick around in Congress.
Finally, there’s this odd attempt to resuscitate a political career by running as an Independent. Rep. Kevin Kiley dithered on what district to run in the new California map and settled on CA-06. However, the GOP label proved too toxic for this blue district and he has shed the “GOP” label and will try and con the voters with a “No Part Preference” (AKA Independent) one. (Sorry for the xeet)
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Gerrymandering is a plague on democracy, one that Gavin Newsom has brought back to California. But there’s a way we can fight back and protect our democracy from his partisan games: by removing partisanship from the equation. Today, I filed for reelection as “No Party… pic.twitter.com/OhGDzKtPEp
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) March 7, 2026
All in all, another eventful couple of days on Capitol Hill with more rats fleeing the sinking GOP ship.