A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Tony Gonzales' resignation from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives leaves uncertainty over who will next represent this sprawling district along the southern border. Here's Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies.
DAVID MARTIN DAVIES, BYLINE: Gonzales' resignation came as he was looking at an expulsion vote from the House of Representatives. The south Texas Republican faced allegations of a past affair with a former staffer who later took her own life. Gonzales' exit leaves eight months left in his term. University of Texas at San Antonio political science professor Jon Taylor said it's up to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to set the date for a special election.
JON TAYLOR: Under Texas law, the governor has tremendous discretion as to when to call a special election. And that, by the way, we've seen already.
DAVIES: He's talking about the Houston, Texas, 18th Congressional District. Last year, it was left vacant for 11 months because Abbott, a Republican, did not call a quick special election in a Democratic-leaning district.
TAYLOR: The reality was he knew that he had to help Republicans maintain their very small majority in the House. And one way to do that was have one less Democratic seat in play.
DAVIES: But the difference with the Texas 23rd is it's seen as a GOP-leaning district. However, things aren't so simple these days. The Republican nominee for the November general election is Brandon Herrera, a hard-right pro-gun YouTube influencer. Herrera did not respond to request for an interview, but he released a statement Tuesday saying he was glad to see repercussions for Gonzales', quote, "heinous behavior" but regrets that the seat is now vacant. If Herrera decides to run in the special election, Taylor says he's not on a glide path to win. The Democratic nominee in the general election, Katy Padilla Stout, announced she will run in a special election. She is a former public school teacher and a lawyer who represents children in foster care.
KATY PADILLA STOUT: We're demanding a special election.
DAVIES: Padilla Stout wants Abbott to call the special election as soon as possible, but she thinks he will delay.
PADILLA STOUT: Republicans are scared. They don't want to have a special election. Their track record with them is not great.
DAVIES: Abbott's office did not respond to questions about his plans for calling the special election.
For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio.
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