This story has been updated.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, preempting a potential expulsion vote by colleagues who’ve been investigating his relationship with a former staffer who died by suicide.
In a statement read aloud by the House clerk, Gonzales said he submitted his resignation letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, effective at 11:59 p.m.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales wrote on social media. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
The move has set off much speculation about what will happen to Gonzales’ 23rd Congressional District.
He’d already dropped his reelection bid, setting up a race between Republican Brandon Herrera and Democrat Katy Padilla Stout this November.
But Gov. Greg Abbott could call a special election to fill it before then if he wanted to — something the governor has so far remained quiet about since Gonzales’ decision. His office said this week that an announcement will come “at a later day.”
Republicans have an extremely narrow U.S. House majority to consider, and risk losing a critical vote if a Democrat made it through, even for a couple of months.
Gonzales’ district has been safely red since it was redrawn after the 2020 Census.
But Democrats have been winning special elections in some tough territory since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, including a 31-point swing in a Fort Worth state Senate district in January.
In a nod to their optimism, Padilla Stout, the Democratic nominee, said she looks forward to Abbott “calling a special election at the earliest possible date.”
Meanwhile Herrera, the Republican nominee, said it was likely the district would be left without a member of Congress until November.
“I am glad to see real repercussions … I do, however, hate that Tony’s actions have left a vacancy for the representation of District 23,” Herrera said on social media.
A special election could draw a long list of candidates to temporarily fill the seat, but the November race will still come down to Padilla Stout versus Herrera.
Padilla Stout secured the Democratic Party’s nomination in March by winning a four-way primary with 52% of the vote. Herrera locked down the GOP nomination several days later when Gonzales dropped out of the race, a move that cancelled their primary runoff.
The 23rd Congressional District supported Trump by roughly 15 percentage points in 2024. National Democratic groups have already been gearing up to spend there this November, in hopes of a major wave election in their favor.
Gonzales’ decision comes as Democrats are also losing a member at the same time.
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) is also resigning amid allegations of sexual misconduct, and a special election will be held to fill his deep blue seat on August 18.
Both Gonzales and Swalwell were facing efforts by colleagues to force them out of office for their behavior, led by U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-New Mexico).
“Had it not been for those resolutions that we were each filing, they wouldn’t have resigned,” Leger Fernandez told CBS News.
