GOP Rep. Gonzales ending reelection bid after admitting to affair with late staffer [View all]

Source: CNN

GOP Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales said he is ending his reelection bid after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide.

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” he wrote in a statement post on X.

Six years ago, Gonzales, a Navy veteran, pulled off an upset in a battleground House seat — with the help of then-campaign chief Tom Emmer.

But in a fiery and emotional phone call on Thursday, Emmer, now the No. 3 House Republican, delivered what he considered the hard truth after Gonzales acknowledged an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide. He urged Gonzales to drop his reelection bid, arguing that he had lied to Emmer himself and the public.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/politics/tony-gonzales-affair-staffer-johnson-runoff