Regina Santos-aviles Texts Detail Rep. Tony Gonzales’ Request for a “Sexy Pic” as Campaign Fallout Intensifies
Newly disclosed messages show U. S. Rep. Tony Gonzales asking Regina Santos-aviles, his district director in Uvalde, to send him a "sexy pic" just after midnight on May 9, 2024. The disclosure has intensified scrutiny of the congressman amid questions about an alleged affair, the staffer’s later death, and an escalating primary campaign fight.
Regina Santos-aviles: the messages, her role and the response
Text messages shared with a news organization on Monday by her husband, Adrian Aviles, include an exchange in which Rep. Tony Gonzales pressed Regina Santos-aviles for a "sexy pic". The messages show that when she pushed back and said the conversation had gone too far, Gonzales persisted, stating he was "just such a visual person. " Regina Santos-aviles served as Gonzales’ district director in Uvalde.
What the police report and related accounts say
Uvalde officials provided a police report to reporters on Monday. The report says Santos-aviles told responding officers that she set herself on fire because her husband was romantically involved with her best friend. The report also notes the couple had been estranged for several months after what a friend described to the investigating detective as "Regina’s supposed affair" straining the relationship.
Santos-aviles died the next day at a hospital in San Antonio. She and Adrian Aviles shared an 8-year-old son.
How Rep. Tony Gonzales has responded
Gonzales did not respond to a request for comment. In November he said rumors of an affair between him and Regina Santos-aviles were "completely untruthful. " As additional material has emerged over the last week, Gonzales has moved away from a blanket denial, instead accusing Adrian Aviles of attempting to blackmail him and blaming his primary opponent, 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 that report to reporters on Monday.
Campaign pressure and Brandon Herrera’s attacks
Brandon Herrera, Gonzales’ Republican primary opponent, has intensified his campaign rhetoric in recent days. Herrera, described as a gun rights activist and YouTuber, is making another run after nearly unseating Gonzales in 2024. In ads and on social media, Herrera has accused Gonzales of having a "taxpayer funded affair with a married staffer, which led to her death by self-immolation, " language taken from one of his posts. Herrera has also said Gonzales should step down and rebuffed the congressman.
What Adrian Aviles has said and community reactions
Adrian Aviles shared the text messages with a news organization on Monday as evidence of an alleged affair. He told a local newspaper that the relationship and the professional ostracization his wife faced after it was discovered led her to become despondent before her death. A friend spoke to the detective investigating the death and described how the couple’s estrangement followed the strain caused by the alleged affair.
Immediate implications and outstanding uncertainties
The disclosures have tightened the political pressure around Rep. Tony Gonzales as he faces a challenging primary next week. Key factual threads remain in public circulation: the May 9, 2024 text exchange requesting a "sexy pic, " the September 2025 death of Regina Santos-aviles by self-immolation, the estrangement and an 8-year-old son, and the circulation of the police report and messages this week. Other details not present in the provided context remain unclear in the provided context and may evolve as more information emerges.
Initial coverage of these developments was compiled by Eleanor Klibanoff on February 23, 2026.
