Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales to face runoff race amid affair allegations

A GOP congressman His primary race is scheduled for later Tuesday night, when he is accused of having an affair with a suicide employee.

Rep. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, failed to win more than 50% of the vote in his southwest Texas district after weeks of scandal.

Gonzales was accused of having an affair and sending sexual messages to a married employee at his Uvalde office, who died in September 2025 after setting himself on fire near her home.

Gonzales, a married father of six, has pushed back on the allegations and accused the late employee’s husband of trying to blackmail him.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, looks on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol before the House voted to keep funding the government until March. (via Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Getty Images)

“During my six years in Congress, not a single formal complaint has been filed against my office. Now days away from the election, there are coordinated political attacks. This won’t work. Halfway through early voting and the intensity stays with TG voters. I’d rather be like us than them,” he posted on X in late February.

That has not stopped the growing opposition from members of his own party House of Representatives, Many of them called on Gonzales to resign. Texas Republicans have rejected those calls.

He is now fighting for his political life against social media influencer Brandon Herrera, who is backed by a campaign from the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Herrera, a gun activist, previously lost to Gonzales in 2024 by less than 400 votes. He now faces Gonzales again after neither man won an outright majority in the four-way Republican primary race.

Fox News Digital was told in the weeks before Tuesday’s primary race that many fellow House Republicans were privately hoping for Gonzales’ defeat and leaving the decision to boot him from Capitol Hill up to his constituents.

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Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera speaks during a campaign rally at Constantino’s Pizza restaurant on February 26, 2026 in Somerset, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Many said in public comments, as well as to Fox News Digital, that they condemned the allegations but maintained that the final decision rests with the people Gonzales represents.

“I think any person in power engages in this type of activity with their staff. And, you know, I supported his opponent in the last Congress, I’ve supported his opponent in this Congress,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital last week, referring to Herrera.

He said Gonzales deserved “due process” but accused him of “abhorrent treatment.”

Rep. Mark Harris, RN.C. told Fox News Digital that the allegations were “very concerning” and said, “I think it’s in the hands of the voters in that district right now.”

Representative Nancy Mace, RS.C., It was announced this week That she is forcing a vote on a measure that would require the House Ethics Committee to disclose information about lawmakers accused of sexually harassing their staff. She has also demanded that Gonzales resign.

However, not all House Republicans are on the same page. The House GOP already wields a razor-thin majority that will likely fluctuate by one- and two-vote margins for much of the rest of this year.

US Rep. Nancy Mays, RS.C. announced his candidacy for governor of South Carolina on August 4, 2025 at a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Retired Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, cited that difference in arguing that pushing Gonzales out early was a bad idea.

“He has a problem here, don’t get me wrong. The optics are terrible,” Nehls told reporters. “But I will never resign now.”

“Allegations are not enough. You have to give (House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y.) the gavel if he does.”

Voters in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District will get a second chance to weigh in on Gonzales in May.

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