GOP Lawmakers Urge Tony Gonzales To Drop Re-Election Bid After Admitting To Affair With Staffer

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Don Arpeggio

House Republican leaders are calling on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) to drop his re-election bid after admitting to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

Rep. Tony Gonzales Admits Affair With Staffer Who Later Died by Suicide After Setting Herself On Fire

Gonzales, who is in a runoff against pro-gun activist Brandon Herrera, faces an ethics investigation after reports that independent House investigators found a “substantial reason to believe” he had a sexual relationship with the subordinate.

NBC News shared further:

The incumbent had been hoping an endorsement from President Donald Trump could help him secure re-election, but the affair allegations roiled Gonzales’ race in the final weeks. And now, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Steve Emmer and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain are calling on him to drop out of his race after he admitted to the affair on Wednesday.

“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. 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,” the group said in a joint statement.

In response to the Ethics Committee’s decision to open an investigation, Gonzales told NBC News in a statement Wednesday, “I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee.”

“I would like to thank Speaker Johnson and House leadership for holding Congressman Tony Gonzales accountable for actions that have tarnished the office,” Herrera said.

“I’m looking forward to representing the district the way the people of West Texas have always deserved,” he added.

More from The Texas Tribune:

The affair and aide’s subsequent death dominated discourse in the final days of the election, heading into Tuesday, after the San Antonio Express News published a report that the staffer had told a colleague about the relationship.

Gonzales remained defiant and refused to drop out of the March 3 primary, even as other members of Congress began urging him to do just that. On Tuesday, Herrera finished first but failed to secure more than 50% of the votes needed to avert a runoff and unseat Gonzales outright.

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