Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (TX-23) has announced that he will no longer seek re-election after finally confirming that he did have an illicit affair with his married female staffer who went on to commit suicide. Gonzales had long denied any such wrongdoing despite text messages proving that the affair took place, but reversed course when he failed to escape a run-off during his primary election on Tuesday.
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) March 6, 2026
After announcing he will not see re-election, Gonzales updates his personal X account photo. https://t.co/642kdJn4jR
— Tony Ortiz (Current Revolt) (@CurrentRevolt) March 6, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: Embattled Congressman Tony Gonzales, who had an affair with a staffer who later kiIIed herself, has DROPPED his re-election bid in Texas’ 23rd District
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 6, 2026
2nd Amendment fighter Brandon Herrera is OFFICIALLY the Republican nominee for the deep red districts
LET’S GO!!! pic.twitter.com/r8F0OUkKLd
After mounting pressure, @RepTonyGonzales has dropped out of the GOP primary runoff. https://t.co/gDZxLC5SLG
— Michael Quinn Sullivan 🇺🇸 (@MQSullivan) March 6, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: Congressman Tony Gonzales breaks his silence in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Joe Pags following the tragic death of a former aide.#Breaking #Exclusive #News pic.twitter.com/FXxO2P1tDe
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) March 5, 2026
The Republican nominee for the district heading into the midterms will now be firearms YouTuber and business owner Brandon Herrera. Herrera had run against Gonzales in 2024, where Gonzales narrowly escaped a primary loss after beating Herrera out of the nomination by less than 400 votes during the second round of voting.
Gonzales would have faced an uphill battle in their rematch, as Herrera managed to earn an impressive slate of endorsements as early voting kicked off, just as the story of Gonzales' affair reemerged. The story captured national attention, and became a focal point of the campaign as the election closed in.
Herrera ended the first round of voting up 2 points on Gonzales.