UVALDE, Tx., March 2, 2026: El Paso’s second congressperson, Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) faces losing his seat going into tomorrow’s primary election after text messages of an affair that drove a former staffer to suicide were released in the last few weeks. After initially denying the rumors of the affair, Gonzales has refused to directly answer questions about it after text messages from Regina Santos-Aviles’ phone suggest they were having an affair. She committed suicide on September 14, 2025, by setting herself on fire.
The text messages and other reporting suggest that Gonzales was having an affair with his former staffer in 2024. He argues that there is more to the story but refuses to directly answer if he had an affair.
Three candidates are challenging Gonzales in tomorrow’s Republican primary. They are Keith Barton, Francisco “Quico” Canesco and Brandon Herrera. Gonzales has been endorsed by Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04).
At stake for the congressional seat, which includes parts of El Paso, is the narrow Republican control of the House. Even if Gonzales were to lose the primary, his votes will help the GOP at the House for the ten months he would remain in office. The Republicans only control four seats more than the Democrats at the House, including Gonzales’ seat.
The House is investigating the allegations against Gonzales for ethics violations, but it is unlikely that the results will be released before a new term begins next year.
The San Antonio Express-News, which has been covering this story in depth, released the results of the autopsy performed on the body of Santos-Aviles yesterday. The autopsy results confirmed what was already known, that Santos-Aviles set herself on fire. According to investigators’ reports, Santos-Aviles was alone when she committed suicide. She was also not pregnant as rumors after her death have suggested.
Of the three challengers, only Herrera seems close to unseating Gonzales tomorrow according to the latest polls, where Herrera leads Gonzales with 33% to 29% going into the election tomorrow.
The winner in tomorrow’s Republican primary will go on to face incumbent Veronica Escobar who does not have an opponent in the Democratic primary.
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