Texas Republican's staffer fatally set herself on fire last year — text now seems to confirm their alleged affair



A newly released text message appears to substantiate rumors that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) had an affair with a staffer who later fatally self-immolated.

Regina Santos-Aviles reportedly sent a message to her co-worker in April 2025 saying she had an affair with Gonzales, who himself is married and has children.

'You blame me? Are you kidding me?'

“I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine,” the now-deceased 35-year-old aide said in a text exchange obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

Mere months after this confession, Santos-Aviles set herself on fire in the back yard of her home, passing away from her injuries the following day on September 14, 2025.

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Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Gonzales has repeatedly dodged questions about the nature of his relationship with Santos-Aviles, telling the New York Post in a statement Wednesday that he was "not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”

“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place,” Gonzales said in the statement. “Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, health care, and rural water like never before.”

Gonzales was nearly successfully primaried in 2024 by Brandon Herrera, a popular gun YouTuber with over four million subscribers, who called the scandal "completely unacceptable."

"This is completely unacceptable behavior for anyone, let along a sitting member of Congress," Herrera said in a post on X Wednesday. "Tony must step down."

Gonzales noted in his statement to the Post: "It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started."

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Photo by Scott Stephen Ball for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Herrera responded to Gonzales' pointed accusations.

"You blame me? Are you kidding me? Tony Gonzales is an irredeemable coward, who dodges accountability and lies to the people," Herrera said. "This started with my problems with your votes in Congress, but now I understand you are a horrifically wicked man who must be removed."

Herrera is once again running to unseat Gonzales, who secured an endorsement from President Donald Trump in December ahead of the March 3 primary.

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Federal court sides with radical activists, strikes down new Texas congressional map on 'racial' grounds



A federal court sided with advocacy groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, challenging the redistricted map of Texas and ordered that the old map be used for the 2026 election.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that challengers to the law would likely be able to prove that it was racially gerrymandered. Two judges ruled in favor, while one dissented.

'Democrats claiming that redistricting is racist are lying. 4 of the 5 districts the Texas Legislature is drawing will be Hispanic districts.'

"The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics," wrote U.S. Judge Jeffrey Brown in the ruling. "To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map."

Brown was appointed to the court by President Donald Trump in 2019.

Democrats cheered the decision.

"A federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy that Texas has ever seen," said Texas state Rep. Gene Wu (D).

LULAC accused the Texas legislature of acting illegally in a previous statement about the case.

"Rather than remedying constitutional flaws in its previous map, lawmakers adopted a new plan that reduces opportunities for voters of color to have an equal voice," the group said. "The map was pushed through in a rushed, opaque process that shut out meaningful public input and ignored widespread testimony about the harm it would cause."

The case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court; however, candidates must file for their campaigns by a Dec. 9 deadline.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previously denied the accusation that the redistricting was discriminatory.

"Democrats claiming that redistricting is racist are lying. 4 of the 5 districts the Texas Legislature is drawing will be Hispanic districts," read a statement from his office on social media.

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The other judge who agreed with Brown was appointed by former President Barack Obama, while the dissenting judge was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan.

Redistricting in Texas has been used by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to justify redistricting in California in order to counteract the seats that may be gained by Republicans in Congress. The Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit against California on the basis that its gerrymandering scheme is also racially discriminatory against non-Hispanics.

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Abbott drops out of NRA convention, will go to Uvalde instead



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will no longer appear in person at the National Rifle Association's convention in Houston on Friday and will instead travel to Uvalde, where a deranged gunman murdered 19 children and two teachers earlier this week. Instead, the governor will give a pre-recorded address, a spokesman for his campaign said.

"Gov. Abbott will be delivering remarks via prerecorded video to the NRA Conference," Abbott campaign spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement. "He will be going to Uvalde today."

Abbott was one of several prominent Republican officials scheduled to attend the conference, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former President Donald Trump. His decision to back out of the event follows widespread criticism of Republican officials and the NRA by Democrats for opposing gun control legislation after an 18-year-old gunman bought two rifles legally and then used them to commit a massacre at Robb Elementary School.

At a press conference on the mass shooting Wednesday, Abbott's Democratic opponent in the upcoming election, Beto O'Rourke, heckled the governor and accused him of "doing nothing" to prevent future mass shootings. Earlier that day, O'Rourke called on Abbott to "immediately withdraw from this weekend’s NRA convention and urge them to hold it anywhere but Texas."

Some other high-profile figures have dropped out of the convention, including singers Larry Gatlin and Don McLean. Gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, the company that made the rifle used in the shooting, has also pulled out of the NRA's event.

Trump said Wednesday that he still plans on addressing the convention in person.

"America needs real solutions and real leadership in this moment, not politicians and partisanship," the former president wrote on his social media website Truth Social. "That's why I will keep my longtime commitment to speak in Texas at the NRA Convention and deliver an important address to America. In the meantime, we all continue to pray for the victims, their families, and for our entire nation – we are all in this together."

On Wednesday, the NRA issued a statement expressing its "deepest sympathies" for the families of the victims of "this horrific and evil crime."

“Although an investigation is underway and facts are still emerging, we recognize this was the act of a lone, deranged criminal,” the NRA said. “As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure.”