Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) is facing calls to step down from office or suspend his 2026 reelection bid from at least four of his fellow House Republicans after evidence emerged that he sent explicit late-night text messages to a staffer who died by setting herself on fire.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was the first to do so, telling the Washington Examiner that Gonzales should be ashamed of his conduct and needed to “resign immediately.”
“I’ve never been a fan of Open Borders Tony,” Boebert said in a text message. “Liars and cheaters aren’t my favorite either. The late night text messages released today seemingly show a perverted boss drunkenly coercing a vulnerable staffer into explicit conversations, pressing her for ‘sexy pics,’ asking about her favorite sexual positions, and even inquiring if she liked ‘anal’ all while she repeatedly pushed back, telling him it was ‘going too far, boss’ and questioning if he was sober. This kind of abuse of power has no place anywhere, let alone in Congress, and Tony Gonzales should be ashamed and RESIGN IMMEDIATELY.”
Calls for Gonzales to resign grew on Monday after screenshots of text messages between Gonzales and Regina Santos-Aviles, a former aide who set herself on fire last year, were made public. The messages appear to show the congressman pressing Santos-Aviles to send sexual pictures late at night.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) called the text messages “disgusting and inexcusable” in a statement on Monday and demanded Gonzales leave office “immediately.”
“We have ZERO tolerance for those who abuse their power over others,” Mace said. “Zero. It does not matter what party you are in, what title you hold, or how powerful you think you are. You do not get a free pass.
“Tony Gonzales should resign immediately and be held fully accountable for what he’s done. She and her family deserved better. And Texans deserve a congressman who does not prey on women.”
Two House Republicans are not going so far as to ask Gonzales to resign but instead are encouraging him to withdraw from the 2026 race.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) said in a post that Gonzales should “drop out” of his 2026 reelection campaign because “America deserves better.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said in a post that “the entire Texas delegation, as well as every single other Member of Congress, should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff.”
“As a woman, this is really disgusting to see,” Luna continued. “Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out. Again, like I’ve said before, this is not the only case of this crap up here. [Tony Gonzales], shame on you.”
She later shared Gill’s post, agreeing that it is “time for Tony to let someone else represent the great people” of Texas.
“Tony, you should drop out of the race,” she said.
Gonzales is facing Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber and gun rights activist, in a contentious GOP primary in his red-leaning south Texas district. The congressman narrowly defeated Herrera in a 2024 runoff election by roughly 400 votes.
“These texts are disgusting,” Herrera wrote in a Monday post to X. “The question is, will Tony finally admit he’s been lying this whole time? Or will he double down even though there is now undeniable proof?”
The House Freedom Fund, the PAC of the conservative Freedom Caucus, endorsed Herrera on Monday but did not mention Gonzales in its statement of support.
Herrera has demanded that the House Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, withdraw its support of Gonzales. The NRCC ran a coordinated ad buy in early February for Gonzales. But a source familiar with the NRCC’s thinking told the Washington Examiner any ad buys supporting Gonzales were previously planned to end before early voting began in Texas, and the committee has not changed those plans.
When asked if Gonzales should resign, one House Republican told the Washington Examiner they believe the process should play out through a House Ethics Committee investigation, but “I know Herrera should be our nominee.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Monday that he “endorsed Tony before all these allegations came out,” but he dodged on whether that support would continue, saying it was too early to “prejudge.”
READ: TONY GONZALES’S EXPLICIT SEXUAL TEXTS TO LATE STAFFER WHO SET HERSELF ON FIRE
“They’re obviously very serious,” Johnson said of the text messages, “and I’ve spoken with him and told him he’s got to address that in the appropriate way with his constituents and all of that. So it’s too early for anybody to prejudge any of that.”
If Gonzales resigned, that would make life significantly more complicated for Johnson, who has a one-seat majority. Any GOP vacancy, whether a member resigns, dies, or is merely absent for votes, makes passing contentious bills along party lines all but impossible.
