Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales faces primary challenge amid allegations of affair : NPR
Caught in controversy, Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales faces a tough primary challenge as his voters debate whether to support him again in Tuesday’s primary.
EMILY KWONG, HOST:
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing political consequences after allegations of an affair with a former staffer who died by suicide. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports.
DAVID MARTIN DAVIES, BYLINE: At the Uvalde Civic Center, early voting for Texas’ political primaries is underway. Outside in the city parking lot, about 70 miles west of San Antonio, there are about two dozen campaign workers making last-minute presentations to their local candidates. Ricky Gimmler (ph) leaves the Civic Center after voting, and he tells me that what’s happening in the Republican primary for the 23rd Congressional District is a bad deal.
RICKY GIMMLER: I was rooting for Tony from the start of his election years ago. But after the situation here in Uvalde with the young woman, I can’t support him.
DAVIES: Gimmler is talking about Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, who is seeking re-election, and the young woman he’s referring to was a Gonzales staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles. Santos-Aviles committed suicide in September. The San Antonio Express News first published allegations that Gonzales had an affair with his former employee. The Express News contained explicit text messages, which NPR has not independently verified, that appeared to show Gonzales pressuring Santos-Aviles to have sex. Gonzales denies the affair and calls the scandal a political attack.
DIANA OVIEDO CARU: Well, I’m glad it’s finally out.
DAVIES: That’s Uvalde resident Diana Oviedo Caru (ph). She said Santos-Aviles was well known in Uvalde. News of his death shook the close-knit community, a town that still carries the trauma of the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022. Caru says the affair allegations were a topic of conversation before the election.
CARU: People seem to think it’s no big deal. I mean, they don’t look at the bigger picture.
DAVIES: The big picture includes the question of who will represent Uvalde and the congressional district, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, encompassing 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Gonzales faces a powerful primary challenger, Brandon Herrera. He’s a pro-gun YouTube influencer who two years ago nearly beat Gonzales in a runoff. This campaign, he is highlighting the Gonzales scandal.
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BRANDON HERRERA: It is now irrefutable that Tony Gonzales is a bad man and must be fired.
DAVIES: Herrera, in a YouTube video, called on Gonzales to resign from office.
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HERRERA: This is your last chance to be a man and take responsibility.
DAVIES: Speaking to CNN on Capitol Hill, Gonzales said not all the facts have come to light.
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TONY GONZALES: I’m not going to resign. I work for the people of Texas every day.
DAVIES: Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said Gonzales is damaged by the scandal.
JON TAYLOR: This is a case of: Do I resign now, or do I let the voters decide to remove me from office?
DAVIES: Taylor said whatever happens now, the 23rd Congressional District could be an opportunity for Democrats. If Gonzales manages to win the primary, general election voters could reject him. And if Herrera wins the primary, Taylor said it could be too extreme for the district.
TAYLOR: There are a lot of questions and concerns about his near hyperfocus on gun rights and gun legislation to the detriment, potentially, of everything else.
DAVIES: Juanita Martinez, Maverick County Democratic Party chairwoman, says the scandal is horrible, but it could spell a loss for the Republican Party.
JUANITA MARTINEZ: To be honest, because Tony is moderate sometimes, I think we have a better chance of winning if Brandon is the nominee.
DAVIES: But it’s also unclear which Democrat will run in the general election. It’s also a question voters will have to decide on primary day, March 3. For NPR News, I’m David Martin Davies in Uvalde.
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