Tony Gonzales Withdraws from Re-election

Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas has withdrawn from his re-election campaign for the United States===United States House of Representatives after publicly admitting to an affair with his former aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who later died by suicide. This decision came after significant pressure from the United States===Republican Party (United States) leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, and the initiation of an investigation by the United States===United States House Committee on Ethics into his conduct. Tony Gonzales had been forced into a run-off election against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube influencer, who has now declared victory. The scandal has drawn attention to House ethics rules prohibiting sexual relationships with supervised employees and has sparked calls for further disciplinary action against Tony Gonzales from other members of Congress, including Anna Paulina Luna and Hakeem Jeffries. Tony Gonzales stated he would serve out the remainder of his term.