Texas representative Tony Gonzales’s reelection campaign has been roiled by accusations that he had an affair with a female staffer who died by suicide last year. Gonzales has so far remained defiant, alleging a political motivation behind the claims and trying to ride out the scandal until March 3, when he faces off against a farther-right challenger in a competitive primary. But the release of Gonzales’s highly sexual text exchanges with the aide has prompted calls for his resignation even from his Republican colleagues whose control of the House would further weaken with his potential exit.

The San Antonio Express-News obtained a series of text messages sent between Gonzales and Regina Santos-Aviles, the director of his Uvalde district office, that appeared to show the congressman pressuring her into sexualized conversations. In one exchange from May 9, 2024, Gonzales wrote to Santos-Aviles, “Send me a sexy pic.”

Santos-Aviles, a married mother of one, rebuffed the congressman, writing, “I swear my life has been a Telenovela for the past seven days. You don’t really want a hot picture of me.”

Gonzales responded back, “Yes I do,” and “Hurry.”

In other exchanges, Gonzales peppered Santos-Aviles with sexual questions, asking her for her “favorite position” and other preferences. During one of these back-and-forths, Santos-Aviles responded, “This is going too far boss.”

The Express-News obtained the text messages through Adrian Aviles, the husband of Santos-Aviles, who told the outlet he used a forensic-data firm to extract the messages from her phone in preparation for potential litigation against Gonzales.

The reported text messages further inflamed a growing election-year........

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