WASHINGTON — Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) faces an uphill battle for a fourth time period in Congress following the emergence of particulars about an alleged affair with a congressional aide who fatally set herself on hearth final 12 months.
A Political Intelligence survey carried out within the days after The Submit and different shops detailed Gonzales’ extramarital tryst with the late Regina Santos-Aviles discovered him receiving simply 21% assist from doubtless voters within the March 3 Republican major within the Lone Star State’s twenty third Congresional District.
YouTuber and firearms fanatic Brandon Herrera, whose marketing campaign commissioned the ballot, was means out in entrance with 45% assist, making him the heavy favourite in a possible Might 26 runoff.
Multiple in 4 (26%) of doubtless voters mentioned they had been undecided, whereas former Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco and building government Keith Barton every obtained 4% assist.
As well as, 54% of doubtless major voters mentioned they’d an “unfavorable” view of Gonzales, whereas simply 24% had a “favorable” opinion of the three-term congressman and 22% had “no opinion.”
Against this, Herrera was considered favorably by 52% of doubtless major voters, in comparison with 20% who considered him unfavorably and 29% who had no opinion.
Gonzales lashed out at each Herrera and Adrian Aviles — Santos Avilies’ widower — final week, claiming he was being “blackmailed” following the revelation of a textual content trade through which the aide admitted the affair to one in all her colleagues.
Santos-Aviles, 35, lit herself on hearth within the yard of her Uvalde, Texas, residence on Sept. 13, 2025, dying the next day within the hospital of her accidents.
In Might 2024, 16 months earlier, Adrian Aviles found sexually suggestive textual content messages from the congressman on his spouse’s telephone.
On Monday, Aviles launched these communications — together with one message the place Gonzales asks the married mom of 1 for a “attractive pic” and queries about her favourite sexual place.
In keeping with the most recent ballot, 61% of twenty third District Republicans mentioned data of the affair would make them “considerably much less doubtless” or “a lot much less doubtless” to vote for Gonzales, whereas simply 32% mentioned it could make no distinction to their vote.
“Throughout my six years in Congress not a single formal criticism has been levied in opposition to my workplace. Now days away from an election, coordinated political assaults reign [sic] in. IT WONT WORK,” Gonzales posted on X Sunday.
“Half means via early voting and the depth resides w/ TG voters. I’d somewhat be us than them.”
Aviles and his legal professional, Bobby Barrera, had been searching for a settlement of as much as $300,000 with Gonzales’ workplace underneath the Congressional Accountability Act for alleged intercourse harassment and office retaliation.
“He lives his life as if nothing occurred. He has no regret. His workplace by no means reached out to us and given us any form of condolences,” Aviles instructed The Submit of Gonzales final week.
“Regina was not pregnant,” he famous. “She was a totally steady … mentally-sane particular person earlier than all of this.”
Gonzales had beforehand denied the affair allegations after they had been first reported by the Day by day Mail this previous October.
Final week, the lawmaker accused Aviles and Barrera of making an attempt to “blackmail” him.
Aviles has publicly requested President Trump to withdraw his endorsement of Gonzales within the major — regardless of beforehand telling The Submit this was not a “political” challenge for him.
“I used to be making an attempt to stay silent. I didn’t need this on the market. … I wished all this to only be behind us,” Aviles mentioned. “He won’t be allowed to lie about my spouse once more. … He’s already achieved it twice, and I remained silent as a result of I’ve an eight-year-old son.”
The Political Intelligence ballot surveyed 543 doubtless GOP major election voters in Texas’ twenty third District Feb. 18-20.
The margin of error was plus-or-minus 4 proportion factors.
