Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales has admitted for the first time that he had a sexual relationship with his former staff member who killed herself last year.
Gonzales, who faces a May runoff in the Republican primary to hold his seat, insisted in a radio interview that he is not responsible for her death.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales told radio host Joe Pagliarulo.
Gonzales, who is married, made the comments hours after congressional investigators recommended the House Ethics committee probe the lawmaker for the relationship, which would be a violation of House rules. The Texas lawmaker said he plans to cooperate with the committee’s investigation.
The acknowledgment comes a day after Gonzales was forced into a runoff election in his west Texas congressional seat against Brandon Herrera, a media personality who owns a gun business and calls himself “the AK Guy.”
Several of his Republican colleagues have called for Gonzales to step down after new details about the relationship came to light in the weeks before Tuesday’s election. Gonzales had previously denied the affair and refused to resign.
Gonzales is alleged to have tried to coerce Regina Santos-Aviles into sending explicit photos, according to text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News and other publications. POLITICO has not independently reviewed the messages.
An attorney for Gonzales declined to comment.
In the interview, Gonzales spoke about Santos-Aviles’ time working in his office before her death, which he said came as “a shock to everyone.” She died by suicide after setting herself on fire at her home in 2025 – about a year after the exchange of messages with the lawmaker.
“Some of the reports are saying that she was not thriving at work. It’s exact opposite. She was thriving at work,” he said.
Gonzales said that Santos-Aviles’ suicide had “absolutely nothing to do with” their relationship.
