GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales forced into primary runoff after affair allegations shake up race
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```json
{
"content": "Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has been forced into a primary runoff with far-right gun activist Brandon Herrera on March 4, 2026, according to CBS News projections, after the congressman faced intense scrutiny over allegations of having an affair with former aide Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died by suicide. Gonzales and Herrera are locked in a tight contest, with neither candidate expected to clear the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff scheduled for May 26. This comes after Gonzales narrowly survived Herrera's primary challenge in 2024, prevailing by just 400 votes in a race that has increasingly become a battle for the soul of the Republican Party in this border district. Gonzales, first elected in 2020, had initially branded himself as a moderate but has since pursued a rightward shift in an attempt to solidify his conservative credentials. Despite touting his endorsement by former President Trump, Trump notably left Gonzales's name off a list of endorsements released on Friday, adding another layer of uncertainty to the embattled incumbent's campaign. The scandal erupted last month when explicit text messages were revealed between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles, including inappropriate requests for photos and discussions of sexual positions. Santos-Aviles died in September after setting herself on fire, according to Uvalde police reports. Both were married at the time with children, adding further gravity to the situation that has drawn calls for Gonzales's resignation from members of both parties. Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which encompasses more than 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, had long been considered a swing district but was redrawn in 2021 to be more safely Republican. Gonzales won by more than 20 percentage points in the 2024 election after the redistricting, and the district remains safely Republican following Texas' 2025 redistricting efforts.",
"key_points": ["Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales forced into runoff with Brandon Herrera", "Affair allegations involving former aide who died by suicide", "Gonzales previously won by only 400 votes in 2024 primary", "Explicit text messages revealed between Gonzales and aide", "District was redrawn to be safely Republican",
"themes": ["Political Scandal", "Primary Election", "Congressional Ethics"],
"keywords": ["Tony Gonzales", "Brandon Herrera", "Primary Runoff", "Affair Allegations", "Texas Election", "Republican Primary", "Congressional Ethics", "Regina Santos-Aviles"]
}
```
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Politics GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales forced into primary runoff after affair allegations shake up race By Caroline Linton Caroline Linton Associate Managing Editor, Politics Caroline Linton is an associate managing editor on the political team for CBSNews.com. She has previously written for The Daily Beast, Newsweek and amNewYork. Read Full Bio Caroline Linton Updated on: March 4, 2026 / 1:54 AM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales has been forced into a repeat primary runoff with far-right gun activist Brandon Herrera, CBS News projects, weeks after Gonzales was accused of having an affair with an aide who later died by suicide — drawing calls for him to resign. Gonzales and Herrera are locked in a tight contest, with neither candidate expected to clear the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff on May 26. Gonzales was first elected in 2020, and had branded himself as a moderate. In a primary challenge from Herrera in 2024, Gonzales only prevailed by 400 votes. Gonzales has since pursued a rightward shift and touted his endorsement by President Trump in this race, although Mr. Trump left his name off a list of endorsements on Friday. But Gonzales had been facing calls to resign from members of both parties after texts were revealed last month between him and former aide Regina Santos-Aviles, who died in September after setting herself on fire, according to the Uvalde police. According to texts obtained by CBS News , Gonzales asked Santos-Aviles for a "sexy pic" in May 2024. After a back-and-forth, Santos-Aviles said she didn't like taking photos of herself. He responded in a pair of texts: "I'm just such a visual person" and "Sorry." The congressman then asked Santos-Aviles what her "favorite position" is. She asked him to answer first, and he did. The aide then texted: "This is going too far boss. So how long have you thought I was this hot?" After another back-and-forth, Santos-Aviles said again: "This is too far, Tony." Gonzales, who ...
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