Tony Gonzales: tony gonzales Texts, Pressure to Resign and Johnson's Response
Just after midnight on May 9, 2024, U. S. Rep. Tony Gonzales sent a message begging an employee, Regina Santos-Aviles, to send him a “sexy pic, ” text messages show. The disclosure of those messages has intensified scrutiny of the congressman and left tony gonzales confronting demands that he address the allegations and the aftermath.
Text messages and timeline
The messages dated just after midnight on May 9, 2024 show Gonzales asking Regina Santos-Aviles for a “sexy pic. ” When Santos-Aviles pushed back, saying the conversation had gone too far, the married San Antonio Republican persisted, writing that he was “just such a visual person. ” Her husband, Adrian Aviles, later shared the text messages with reporters on Monday as evidence of an affair between the congressman and his staffer.
Role and death of Santos-Aviles
Santos-Aviles served as Gonzales’ district director in Uvalde. She died in September 2025 after lighting herself on fire. The police report provided to reporters on Monday says Santos-Aviles told responding officers that she set herself on fire because her husband was romantically involved with her best friend. The report notes the couple had been estranged for several months after what a friend described to the detective investigating her death as “Regina’s supposed affair. ” Santos-Aviles died the next day at a hospital in San Antonio. She and Adrian Aviles shared an 8-year-old son.
Political fallout and pressure
Gonzales is married with six children and represents the 23rd Congressional District, the state’s largest, which stretches across the southwestern border and into San Antonio. He faces a difficult reelection campaign: Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist and YouTuber, has launched another challenge after almost unseating Gonzales in 2024. In ads and on social media, Herrera has accused Gonzales of a “taxpayer funded affair with a married staffer, which led to her death by self-immolation, ” as he put it in one post. Herrera has also said Gonzales should step down and rebuffed the congressman.
Tony Gonzales and the campaign
Gonzales did not respond to a request for comment. In November he said rumors of an affair between him and Santos-Aviles were “completely untruthful. ” As more evidence has emerged over the last week, he has avoided direct denials, instead accusing Adrian Aviles of trying to blackmail him and blaming his opponent in next week’s primary, Brandon Herrera, for politicizing the issue. Gonzales has called for the full police report related to Santos-Aviles’ death to be released; Uvalde officials provided the report to reporters on Monday.
Speaker Johnson's message
Speaker Johnson has told the House Republican to address the affair allegations but said he should not resign. The congressman is also being described publicly as a Texas representative under pressure to resign over messages sent to a staff member as the controversy continues to unfold.
Key elements of the record remain: the May 9, 2024 messages asking for an explicit photo, Santos-Aviles’ role as district director in Uvalde, her self-inflicted injuries and death in September 2025, Adrian Aviles’ sharing of the texts with reporters on Monday, Gonzales’ November denial that rumors were “completely untruthful, ” his accusations of attempted blackmail, and the political attacks and calls for accountability from Brandon Herrera.
Closing: The sequence of texts, the police report, the estrangement described by a friend, and the competing political claims have combined to put Gonzales under sustained scrutiny as he heads into a competitive primary contest.
