Trump Choice for Congress in Texas Race
Hobbled by Scandal in Stretch Before Vote
Capitol Inside
February 19, 2026
| |
CD |
FAVORITE |
| 1 |
23 GOP |
Brandon Herrera
Tony Gonzales (I) |
| 2 |
9 GOP |
Alex Mealer
Briscoe Cain
|
| 3 |
34 GOP |
Eric Flores
Mayra Flores |
| 4 |
33 DEM |
** Julie Johnson (I)
Colin Allred |
| 5 |
18 DEM |
Christian Menefee (I)
* Al Green (I) |
| 6 |
2 GOP |
Dan Crenshaw (I) |
| 7 |
28 DEM |
Henry Cuellar (I) |
| 8 |
9 DEM |
Terry Virts
Leticia Gutierrez |
| 9 |
35 GOP |
Carlos De La Cruz
John Lujan |
| 10 |
32 GOP |
Jace Yarbrough
Ryan Binkley |
| 11 |
38 GOP |
Jon Bonck
Shelly deZavalos |
| 12 |
19 GOP |
Abraham Enriquez
Tom Sell |
| 13 |
23 DEM |
Katy Padilla Stout
Santos Limon |
| 14 |
8 GOP |
Jessica Steinmann |
| 15 |
21 GOP |
Mark Teixeira |
| 16 |
15 DEM |
Bobby Pulido |
| 17 |
29 DEM |
Sylvia Garcia (I) |
| 18 |
31 GOP |
John Carter (I) |
| 19 |
28 GOP |
Tano Tijerina |
| 20 |
32 DEM |
Dan Barrios |
| |
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President Donald Trump made a promise to Republican voters in Texas when he issued a complete and total endorsement for U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio for a re-election race in the 23rd Congressional District. Trump cited the wisdom and courage that Gonzales displayed on the battlefield in deployments to Iran and Afghanistan as a U.S. Navy officer - and he assured the GOP electorate in the district that stretches all the way from the Alamo City to El Paso that the incumbent congressman would not let them down.
But as Texas voters cast ballots on the third day of early voting for the March 3 primary election. speculation swirled wildly on the prospects for a skater's reverse by the president in CD 23 where the Gonzales campaign appeared on the brink of a collapse on Thursday in the face of revelations about an alleged affair with a female aide before she killed herself last year.
Rumors about the possibility of an adulterous relationship with an employee had dogged Gonzales' campaign for months before the San Antonio Express-News reported on Wednesday that the late staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, confessed to colleagues in texts that she'd been romantically involved with the congressman before she died after lighting herself on fire. Gonzales had refused to acknowledge the affair and appeared poised to survive it before the bombshell revelations.
Gonzales may have complicated his problems when he finally broke his silence on Thursday
with accusations that the late staff member's husband Adrian Aviles had been attempting to blackmail him. Gonzales contended that Aviles sought $300,000 in an email for signing a non-disclosure agreement to keep information about the illicit relationship under wraps.
Aviles denied the allegations vehemently in a post on X on Thursday - saying the family chose to keep the police report and bodycam footage on his spouse's death confidential as a result of graphic images that its members didn't want the couple's 8-year-old son to discover in a future Internet search.
"We have never blackmailed anyone," Aviles said. "What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image. You’re a classic case of a two-faced politician who says whatever is convenient to save face."
Aviles said the attempt to keep details confidential was never aimed at protecting anyone than their child in the social media response to the blackmail allegations from the Gonzales camp.
"Nothing in that police report protects you, that decision is about protecting our child’s well-being, not concealing anything improper," Aviles added. "Your actions have been disgraceful, and you continue to mislead your constituents with falsehoods. You may avoid responsibility here on earth, but one day you will answer to a higher authority. Today, though, you still answer to the people you represent—people who deserve the truth, not more deception."
Gonzales is one of
17 incumbent congressional members who Trump has endorsed up to now for the in the GOP primary election in the Lone Star State less than two weeks from now. The president can expect pressure to drop his support for Gonzales
in the first round in CD 23 where Brandon Herrera appears to be his biggest threat in a rematch of a fight the challenger almost won two years ago.
Herrera joined a chorus of conservatives who were calling for Gonzales' resignation on Wednesday night and Thursday in light of the scandalous revelations in which his campaign finds itself embroiled as time ticks away before the first vote of the new election year. But Gonzales showed no signs of slowing down with campaign stops today in Marfa, Iraan, Peco, Presidio and Sonara.
Trump will face calls to cancel the Gonzales endorsement amid fears that Democrats would flip CD 23 if the incumbent Republican emerged from the primary election or subsequent runoff in a district that would be within striking distance if Trump's record low popularity ratings fail to rebound before the fall.
Trump appeared to be concerned with the potential for a general election defeat for the GOP in a Houston-area district when he came off the sidelines early this week and endorsed Alex Mealer for the 9th Congressional District seat with a high-profile snub for the conservative who'd expected to have the president's suppprt - GOP State Rep. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park.
The Trump camp apparently decided that Mealer as a combat veteran who served as an Army bomb squad member would be a better fit than Cain for a potential fall showdown with Terry Virts - a retired Air Force colonel who flew space missions as an astronaut - who Republicans in the state's largest city see as a major potential threat in a quest for the Democratic nomination in CD 9.
A University of Houston poll of the Democratic competition in CD 9 in January showed Leticia Gutierrez out in front in a field with six Democrats including Earnest Clayton and Virts with 5 percent each in a district where more than 81 percent of the voters in the poll didn't know enough about them to have opinions.
Virts scored an endorsement on Wednesday from Adam Kitzinger - the former congressional Republican from Ohio who's been a vocal Trump critic in recent years.
Trump's endorsement still appears to be the gold-standard in GOP candidates in primary fights in Texas - and of the Republicans who he's endorsed in U.S. House races here are all either favored to advance to runoffs in the Capitol Inside crystal ball forecast for the primary if they don't win outright on March 3.
That includes Gonzales, who may get a reprieve with a shot to make a runoff in CD 23 based simply on name recognition alone as a third-term incumbent in a district where former congressional member Quico Canseco and San Antonio logistics manager Keith Barton are running in the GOP primary as well. But Herrera lost to Gonzales in a primary runoff in 2024 by 354 votes out of nearly 30,000 that were cast. Herrera has vaulted past Gonzales in the forecast here for CD 23 despite the tentative prediction here for OT.
Seven Republicans with endorsements from Trump appear to be the betting favorites for wins in round one or slots in runoffs in Texas congressional contests that they'd expect to win if they don't close it out in two weeks. The Republicans who Trump has endorsed for open U.S. House races in Texas include Chris Gober in Congressional District 10, Carlos de la Cruz in Congressional District 35 and former professional baseball player Mark Teixiera in Congressional District 21. The president also is backing Jon Bonck and Jessica Steinmann in U.S. House contests that are open in the Houston area.
Trump switched horses in Congressional District 34 when he endorsed Eric Flores this time around over the former short-term representative Mayra Flores, who he'd supported for the seat in the past. The Flores pair, who are not related, are two of eight entries on the ballot for the GOP in CD 34 where Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez faces token opposition in round one in a bid to keep the seat.
The rankings for the Texas Races to
Watch in the primary elections in 2026 are based on the level of competitiveness, fundraising, endorsements, organization, experience in campaign politics and government, polling and factors that are unique to individual races and cannot be measured with data. The rankings for the general election in November will revolve first and foremost on the potential for partisan turnovers.
more to come ...
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