"The San Antonio Express-News reported last month that Regina Santos-Aviles, the congressman's regional district director in Uvalde, had confided in a coworker last year that she was having an affair with Gonzales. The outlet revealed a series of text messages between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles that showed the congressman pressuring her to send him photos of herself and peppering her with questions about her sexual preferences."
"Rumors of an affair first began to spread last year following news of Santos-Aviles's tragic death. The married mother of one was discovered with severe burns in the backyard of her Uvalde home, and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Authorities declared her death a suicide by self-immolation."
"But Gonzales has recently adopted a more forceful defense, rejecting the reporting as a political tactic and levying allegations of blackmail against Adrian Aviles, the husband of Santos-Aviles who has confirmed the affair in interviews and accused the congressman of taking advantage of his wife."
Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales will face a runoff election after neither he nor challenger Brandon Herrera secured 50 percent in Tuesday's Republican primary. Gonzales received 41.7 percent to Herrera's 43.3 percent, a weak showing for an incumbent. This runoff provides Gonzales a final opportunity for political survival as he continues resisting resignation calls following weeks of reporting about an alleged affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, a regional district director who later died by suicide. The San Antonio Express-News revealed text messages showing Gonzales pressuring Santos-Aviles for intimate photos. Gonzales initially denied the affair but now characterizes the reporting as political tactics and blackmail allegations, while Santos-Aviles's husband has confirmed the affair occurred.
Read at Intelligencer
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