Affair Scandal Leaves Representative Gonzalez’s Texas Seat Vulnerable to Challenger With History of Antisemitic Rhetoric

With Representative Tony Gonzalez engulfed in scandal over an extramarital affair, his bid for re-election in an upcoming Texas primary faces a challenge from a social media provocateur with a record of antisemitic rhetoric.Thirty-year-old Brandon Herrera, also known as “TheAKGuy,” lost to Mr. Gonzalez in Texas’s 23rd District Republican primary in 2024 by some 400 votes. Mr. Herrera has built a large following on YouTube posting firearm content, though he has drawn condemnation for embedding imagery and jokes about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust in his videos.Now Mr. Herrera is using reports of Mr. Gonzalez’s scandal to call for his resignation and boost his chances in the upcoming primary. This week the San Antonio Express-News confirmed long-standing rumors that Mr. Gonzalez had engaged in an affair with a former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, who took her own life last year by setting herself on fire.The Express-News published a text exchange between Santos-Aviles and another former staffer in which Santos-Aviles acknowledged that she “had an affair with our boss.” Mr. Gonzalez, who is married with six children, had denied any infidelity when rumors of the affair first emerged in November.Mr. Gonzalez denied the affair Thursday morning and accused the widow of the late Santos-Aviles, Adrian Aviles, of blackmailing him. The congressman posted on X a screenshot of an email from Mr. Aviles’s attorney proposing a settlement and nondisclosure agreement in lieu of a lawsuit that could damage his career.The attorney’s email noted that the Congressional Accountability Act, which permits congressional staffers to sue for workplace discrimination or harassment, caps damages at $300,000.“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Mr. Gonzalez wrote alongside the screenshot. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death. The public should IMMEDIATELY have full access to the Uvalde Police report. I will keep fighting for #TX23.”Following the report, Mr. Herrera accused Mr. Gonzalez of ethical misconduct and called on him to resign, arguing that nominating the Republican incumbent is a “risk we as a party cannot afford to take.”Mr. Herrera, however, has drawn criticism from Texas’s Jewish community for posting videos on YouTube referencing and including imagery associated with Nazi Germany. In one video from 2022, Mr. Herrera displayed a submachine gun developed by Nazi Germany before calling it “the original ghetto blaster.” The same video included a photo montage of Nazi weaponry set to a popular Nazi marching song.Mr. Herrera also opposes sending aid to Israel or other foreign nations. When asked in 2024 whether he would vote to halt all foreign aid, including to Israel, he wrote on X: “We can’t claim to be ‘America First’ while pushing spending bills like the most recent foreign aid package that gave almost $100 billion to every country except the US.” Mr. Gonzalez has resisted calls to resign and condemned Mr. Herrera for “using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started,” he told the Texas Tribune on Wednesday. “I am 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.”Two other Republicans are also running in the primary: Marine Corps veteran and manager of a construction equipment rental company, Keith Barton, and an attorney and former Representative, Francisco Canseco. Both significantly trail Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Herrera in fundraising, where Mr. Gonzalez holds the lead. Mr. Gonzalez in 2024 received financial support from several pro-Israel advocacy groups, including the United Democracy Project and the Republican Jewish Coalition. Neither group has confirmed its plans for the coming election. In December — before the affair was confirmed — President Trump offered his “complete and total endorsement” of Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Herrera was rebuffed by the president in January, when the White House sent his campaign a cease-and-desist letter demanding he stop using Mr. Trump’s image in campaign materials.

Affair Scandal Leaves Representative Gonzalez’s Texas Seat Vulnerable to Challenger With History of Antisemitic Rhetoric

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