Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) confirmed Wednesday that he had an affair with a staff member in his congressional office, reversing months of public denials. He made the admission during a radio interview on The Joe Pags Show on March 4, exactly one day after Texas Republican primary voters handed him a second-place finish in his own district.

With 99 percent of votes counted in the Republican primary for Texas's 23rd Congressional District, Gonzales pulled about 41.7 percent. Challenger Brandon Herrera took 43.3 percent, setting up a May 26 runoff, Breitbart News reported.

The timing tells you everything you need to know about the congressman's calculation. He denied it before the election. He admitted it the day after.

Months of denials, then a radio confession

The woman at the center of this story is Regina Santos-Aviles, a regional district director in Gonzales's office. She died in September 2025 after pouring gasoline on herself and setting herself on fire in the backyard of her Uvalde, Texas, home.

Messages published in February show Gonzales asking the staffer to send him explicit photos, asking questions about sexual preferences in May 2024, and commenting that she was "hot." In one reported exchange, Santos-Aviles responded that the conversation was going "too far." According to reports, the two met privately at a rental cabin near Uvalde on at least two occasions in May 2024.

None of this is new information. What's new is Gonzales finally acknowledging it. Last fall, at the Texas Tribune Festival, the congressman rejected the claims outright:

"The rumors are completely untruthful, and Regina's family has asked for privacy."

That was a lie. He now admits to a "lapse in judgment" and says he takes "full responsibility for those actions." When pressed on whether the sexually explicit messages were real, he did not directly confirm or deny their authenticity. He simply said he would let the investigation play out.

The 'coordinated attack' defense

Rather than offer a straightforward accounting, Gonzales pivoted to portraying himself as the target. He told Joe Pags that the allegations against him have "from day one" been "about power and money," describing a "very coordinated attack" that was "intentional." He alleged that Santos-Aviles' estranged husband, Adrian Aviles, attempted to obtain money from him after her death, characterizing the situation as an effort to "shake me down."

Adrian Aviles' attorney, Bobby Barrera, denied the extortion claims, calling the letter in question "a standard confidential settlement letter" and accusing Gonzales of "trying to play the victim."

Reports indicate the settlement demand was for $300,000.

There is a particular ugliness to this defense. A woman who worked for Gonzales is dead in the most horrific way imaginable. One unnamed senior Republican lawmaker, whose reaction was posted by Wall Street Journal Congress reporter Olivia Beavers, captured it plainly:

"A total disaster. Tony Gonzales' video is textbook case of what NOT to do. He shows no contrition or empathy for his staffer who died, shows no sincerity to his constituents for lying, and actually attacks the widower and family of his dead staffer. And smears the widower as gay."

That's not a Democrat talking. That's a senior Republican.

The pay question

Beyond the affair itself, the source material raises questions about whether Santos-Aviles received favorable treatment in compensation. Records reviewed by the Uvalde Leader-News show her salary increased from about $13,500 in late 2023 to roughly $17,000 in 2024, with more than $4,000 in bonuses and other compensation. Her total earnings in 2024 reached nearly $73,000, roughly $19,000 more than she made the previous year.

Gonzales called the suggestion that the raise was connected to the relationship "absolutely false," insisting the pay increase came in February 2024, "before all these alleged incidents occurred," and that "it was staff-wide." He described the bonuses as "standard" and said there were "no complaints of any issues whatsoever in any form or fashion."

The House Ethics Committee will now test those claims. On March 4, the same day as Gonzales's radio interview, the committee announced it had voted to establish an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations that Gonzales may have engaged in sexual misconduct with an employee or provided special favors or privileges. The inquiry follows an earlier investigation by the Office of Congressional Conduct. Under House rules, members are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with staff they supervise.

The conservative case for accountability

Conservatives should not look away from this because Gonzales has an R next to his name. The party that claims to stand for personal responsibility, family values, and institutional integrity cannot apply those standards selectively. A congressman who carries on a relationship with a subordinate, lies about it for months, waits until after the primary to come clean, and then frames himself as the real victim is not someone who strengthens the Republican brand.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) said what needed saying:

"Representative Gonzalez has done the right thing by admitting fault in having an affair. Now he needs to make the responsible choice, focus on his family, and stop his current reelection bid for his congressional seat."

Gonzales has repeatedly refused to resign. He appears intent on contesting the May 26 runoff against Herrera. That is his right. But voters in Texas's 23rd District now have a complete picture, one Gonzales spent months trying to prevent them from seeing before they cast their ballots.

He admitted the truth one day too late for it to count as honesty. The primary voters of TX-23 deserved better. The woman who died in that Uvalde backyard deserved better. And the party that asks Americans to trust it with power deserves representatives who don't treat accountability as something you schedule for the day after it matters.