Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to runoff in Texas GOP primary amid affair allegations

• Neither candidate met the majority threshold needed to win outright, according to AP, meaning Gonzales and Herrera advance to a May 26 runoff.
• Gonzales, a three-term lawmaker, survived a razor-thin 2024 runoff against Herrera by roughly 400 votes.
• A gun influencer known as "the AK Guy" on YouTube, Herrera leaned heavily on the allegations in his pitch to voters.

State of play: Gonzales has been facing mounting blowback from fellow House Republicans — including calls for his resignation — after the San Antonio Express-News reported that he had an affair with his former regional director, Regina Santos-Aviles.

• Santos-Aviles died last year after setting herself on fire outside her Uvalde home.
• Axios obtained copies of text messages between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles, from her husband, Adrian Aviles, who shared them in a message with his attorney copied on it.
• In one message from May 2024, Gonzales asked Santos-Aviles for a "sexy pic." Santos-Aviles later replied, "this is too far tony."

Gonzales' office declined to comment late last month on the latest alleged text exchanges or on the calls for his resignation.

The intrigue: Top Republicans, including President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), did not pull their endorsements of Gonzales.

• Johnson had called the allegations "alarming and detestable" but said "due process" needs to play out when asked about calls for Gonzales to step down.