A former employee of legislator Tony Gonzales accused him of sending her sexually explicit text messages years before the congressman had a relationship with another of his subordinates, who committed suicide last year.
In an interview with The San Antonio Express-News, the woman, who worked on Gonzales’ 2020 campaign, revealed that although she rejected the congressman’s advances, they made her uncomfortable and she decided to tell what happened after Regina Santos-Áviles’ death.
Ex-employee of Tony Gonzales accuses him of the worst
Previously-unreported text messages reveal married San Antonio congressman Tony Gonzales asked a subordinate for sex and nude photos years before his 2024 affair with Regina Santos-Aviles. https://t.co/JszOBV0Y8f pic.twitter.com/pMdcaZtcjl
– San Antonio Express-News (@ExpressNews) April 6, 2026
“He obviously pursued her, pursued her and pursued her and pursued her, just like he did with me,” the former Gonzales campaign staffer told the newspaper.
“I never took him seriously…it wasn’t until this poor girl died that I thought, ‘No, this guy is pure evil.'”
In a series of text messages that the former employee shared with the newspaper, Gonzales makes comments about her body, insists that she send him photos of herself and asks her to have sex.
Gonzales, who represents in the House of Representatives a district that encompasses parts of the Texas-Mexico border, resigned in early March from his re-election bid after his relationship with Santos-Aviles became public.
The lawmaker announced the end of his campaign – which faced a runoff election in the Republican primary next May – after it was learned Thursday that the House Ethics Committee would investigate him for his relationship with a female subordinate, something prohibited by congressional rules.
The Republican, who represents a border district since 2021, faces a growing controversy after text messages and interviews from former staffers were released accusing him of having a relationship with his Uvalde (Texas) office manager, Regina Santos-Áviles.
The politician, from Texas’ 23rd district, admitted to having a relationship with the 35-year-old woman, who died last September in an event that coroners classified as an “immolation,” for which the husband of the deceased held the congressman responsible.
The lawmaker’s resignation reflects the pressure on Republicans to maintain a majority in Congress in the upcoming November elections, in which U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to retain control of the Legislature amid polls showing a decline in his popularity.
Following Gonzales’ resignation, he is left as the sole candidate in the Republican primary Brandon Herrera, a content creator and gun maker known as ‘The AK Guy’ for his fondness for these rifles, which generates controversy in Uvalde, where in 2022 there was a school shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Filed under: Former employee of Tony Gonzales
With information from EFE
