When Gov. Greg Abbott calls for a special election to fill Texas Congressional District 23, Democrat Katy Padilla Stout says she will "absolutely" run.
On Monday U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales announced on social media that he will resign from Congress after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a staffer who later took her own life.
Gonzales essentially admitted to the affair during an interview with a right-wing talk show host.
Gonzales was facing a congressional ethics investigation into his conduct and there was a possibility of an imminent congressional expulsion vote. He had also terminated his re-election campaign after failing to secure the GOP nomination and being pulled into a primary runoff.
Yet Gonzales framed his resignation announcement not as a dodge of a looming political accountability but as a biblical revelation.
"There is a season for everything, and God has a plan for us all," he wrote on X Monday evening.
"When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas," he said.
There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) April 13, 2026
Gonzales's announcement came hours after California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell announced he was also resigning from Congress. Swalwell is facing allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from at least four women.
The resignations of both Gonzales and Swalwell manages to maintain the balance of power in Congress with Republicans holding onto a thin majority.
Padilla Stout, who is the Democratic nominee for TX-CD 23, said that balance could come into play as both California and Texas could soon hold special elections to fill the two vacant seats.
"If California is going to call a special election, pretty quickly, they are going to get their spot filled and then that would leave the Republicans in Texas without a seat filled," she said.
It is up to Abbott to set the date for the Texas special election. If the timeline to fill the congressional seat of Blake Farenthold is any indication, Abbott could pick an election date as soon as June.
Farenthold resigned on April 6, 2018, and Abbott set the replacement election for June 30, 2018, in Texas' 27th Congressional District. Farenthold (R) resigned due to a sexual harassment scandal and an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation.
Padilla Stout said she is ready to run in the special election and expects that Brandon Herrera, the Republican nominee for the district, will also run.
On Tuesday Herrera released a statement that said:
"I am glad to see real repercussions for the heinous sexual improprieties that both Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell have exhibited in Congress. I do however hate that Tony's actions have left a vacancy for the representation of District 23.
In the meantime, I promise to do everything in my power to advocate for the constituents of this district at a federal level in the interim until I'm able to take the seat officially after November's election."
This is a developing story.
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