德克萨斯州第23届国会选区选举预计将进行决选，因为现任众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯(Tony Gonzales)和保守派活动家布兰登·埃雷拉(Brandon Herrera)都未能获得超过50%的选票，冈萨雷斯被指控与一名后来自杀的员工有染。
随着周三早上94%的预期投票结果的公布，埃雷拉仅比冈萨雷斯领先约1个百分点(大约43%对42%)。
冈萨雷斯和埃雷拉此前在2024年共和党初选中针锋相对，同样进入了决选。冈萨雷斯最终仅以400票的优势获胜。
周二的初选正值Gonzales与一些众议院共和党人要求其辞职的呼声斗争之际，Gonzales被指控与去年秋天自杀身亡的一名国会助手有婚外情。Gonzales否认了与助手Regina Santos-阿比莱斯有染的指控。
最近被问及是否与桑托斯-阿比莱斯有婚外情时，冈萨雷斯说“你所看到的并不是全部事实。”
桑多斯-阿比莱斯的鳏夫向美国广播公司提供的短信显示，冈萨雷斯正在与这位前雇员发展关系。美国广播公司新闻已经联系了冈萨雷斯，要求他对这些短信发表评论。
今年2月，冈萨雷斯告诉美国广播公司新闻，“桑托斯-阿比莱斯女士是一个善良的人，她毕生致力于让社区变得更好。”
美国广播公司新闻也证实，冈萨雷斯一直在接受国会行为办公室的调查，该办公室已经完成了调查。根据规定，OCC不能在选举前60天传送针对国会议员的报告。
决选定于5月26日举行，距离初选还有60多天。
周三，众议院道德委员会宣布，它成立了一个调查小组委员会，调查对冈萨雷斯的指控。
随着要求他辞职的呼声不断，冈萨雷斯在竞选连任时明显失去了许多支持。他上个月说他“不会辞职”。
唐纳德·特朗普总统在指控之前已经支持冈萨雷斯。此后，白宫没有回应ABC新闻关于总统是否仍然支持冈萨雷斯的问题。
在对决选消息的回应中，冈萨雷斯首先感谢总统，并期待一个“胜利的五月”
在给《冈萨雷斯邮报》的回复中，埃雷拉反驳道:“你真的在祝贺自己没有赢得初选吗?”
Herrera是第二修正案活动家和社交媒体人物，他也面临着争议，包括他的YouTube视频据称含有与纳粹有关的图像。对此，埃雷拉在一篇社交媒体帖子中写道，“我不是，也从来不是新纳粹分子。”
Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales heads to runoff with Brandon Herrera in Texas GOP primary
The Texas 23rd Congressional District race is projected to head to a runoff, as incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was accused of having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, and conservative activist Brandon Herrera both failed to receive more than 50% of the vote.
With 94% of the expected vote reporting Wednesday morning, Herrera holds just about a 1-point advantage over Gonzales (roughly 43% to 42%).
Gonzales and Herrera previously went head-to-head in the 2024 Republican primary and similarly advanced to a runoff. Gonzales ultimately won by just 400 votes.
Tuesday's primary election came as Gonzales battles calls from some House Republicans to resign amid allegations that he engaged in an extramarital affair with a congressional aide who died by suicide last fall. Gonzales has denied the allegations of the affair with the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles.
Asked recently if he had an extramarital affair with Santos-Aviles, Gonzales said "what you have seen is not all the facts."
Text messages, provided to ABC News by Santos-Aviles' widower, appear to show Gonzales pursuing a relationship with the former staffer. ABC News has reached out to Gonzales for a request for comment on the text messages.
In February, Gonzales told ABC News that "Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place."
ABC News has also confirmed that Gonzales has been under investigation by the Office of Congressional Conduct, which has already completed its probe. Due to its rules, the OCC can't transmit a report against a member of Congress 60 days prior to an election.
The runoff election is scheduled for May 26, which is more than 60 days away from the primary election.
On Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee announced that it started an investigative subcommittee to look into the allegations against Gonzales.
Gonzales has notably lost many endorsements in his bid for reelection as calls for his resignation continue. He said last month that he is "not going to resign."
President Donald Trump had endorsed Gonzales prior to the allegations. Since then, the White House has not responded to ABC News' questions about whether the president still supports Gonzales.
In apost on Xreacting to the news of a runoff, Gonzales began by thanking the president and looking forward to a "victorious May."
In areply to Gonzales post, Herrera retorted: "Are you seriously congratulating yourself for not winning your primary?"
Herrera, a Second Amendment activist and social media personality, has also faced his share of controversy, includingaccusationsthat his YouTube videos allegedly featured Nazi-related imagery. In response, Herrera wrote in a social media post that "I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi."
Both candidates have sought to align themselves closely with the president.
