San Antonio Express-News: Rep. Gonzales allegedly sent lewd texts to campaign staffer in 2020

By Ellis Kim, CNN

(CNN) — Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing new allegations he sent a former campaign staffer lewd texts, just weeks after revelations of his affair with another former employee rocked and ultimately ended his reelection bid.

The San Antonio Express-News on Monday published previously unreported texts that Gonzales allegedly sent the political director of his campaign in June 2020, during his first run for Congress. The texts, as published by the Express-News, included Gonzales asking the staffer “What kind of panties do you wear?,” repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her, and describing how he wanted to have sex with her.

The report does not identify the staffer, who told the San Antonio Express-News the relationship never became physical. CNN has not independently verified the text messages.

CNN has reached out to Gonzales’ office for comment. The congressman and his office did not respond to inquiries from the Express-News.

The allegations suggest Gonzales may have pursued a sexual relationship with an employee years before a previously reported and separate affair in 2024 with a staffer – which runs afoul US House rules. The staffer later died by suicide. Though Gonzales has denied any connection with her death, the news of the affair spurred investigations into the congressman and calls for him to resign his seat and end his reelection campaign.

Last month, Gonzales acknowledged the affair with the district staffer, calling it “a lapse in judgment.” The staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, later died by self-immolation in what a county medical examiner’s office determined was suicide.

His admission of the affair followed media reports about other lewd text messages he was alleged to have sent to Santos-Aviles, including one that showed Gonzales asking for a “sexy pic.”

CNN has reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for comment on the latest allegations against the congressman.

Johnson and his leadership team previously called on Gonzales to drop his reelection bid amid the fallout from the initial allegations and an active ethics probe into them.

“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation,” the GOP leaders said at the time.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” they continued.

Gonzales ultimately withdrew from the election but he has refused to resign his seat in the chamber’s narrow majority – a move that even Republican congressional leaders have stopped short of calling for.

With the House’s historically narrow margin, GOP leaders can only afford a single defection from their ranks to pass bills on a party-line vote. Johnson has firmly denied he is choosing to keep Gonzales in Congress for the rest of the year solely because of that razor-thin vote math.

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