Steve Montenegro, soon-to-be former congressional candidate

In a December 2017 video message on his Facebook page, then Arizona State Rep. Steve Montenegro said Rep. Trent Franks, who retired in disgrace after news surfaced that he asked two female staffers to act as surrogates for him and his wife, personally called Montenegro and encouraged him to run for his soon-to-be-vacated congressional seat. The part-time church minister resigned his state seat and set out for a full-time run at Congress. His odds of winning that seat have likely gone down in flames overnight as NBC 12 News in Arizona got their hands on salacious texts between Montenegro and a female legislative aide:

Republican congressional candidate Steve Montenegro is a married man and a church minister whose campaign emphasizes his “virtue, honor and integrity.” A series of text messages between Montenegro and a female staff member at the Arizona Legislature may raise questions about that claim. The staffer sent Montenegro a topless photo via text message, according to a series of messages between Montenegro and the staffer that were reviewed by 12 News.

Although 12 News describes the nature of the relationship as “unclear,” it doesn’t take a genius to see what is happening:

Montenegro was asked whether he could tell voters he never engaged in any improper relationships with Capitol staffers. "Of course I can," he said. The messages reviewed by 12 News show the staffer sent Montenegro a selfie posing topless in a bathroom. She said, “You have to delete these.” Montenegro responded, “SNAP,” apparently referring to Snapchat, a popular messaging app that allows users to send photo or video “Snaps” that disappear after they're viewed by the recipient. In another exchange, Montenegro says he wants to “switch over” from texting to Snapchat. The staffer asks, “How do I find you on Snapchat? What’s your user name?” She finds the account on her own, “Smonten1981.” The account no longer exists.

See the full report from 12 News below, including additional messages between the two. It’s unclear how they got the text messages between the pair. Either way, it seems unlikely the “virtue, honor, integrity” candidate will be in the race much longer. It’s only a matter of time before he announces he’s leaving the race to spend more time with his very likely pissed off wife—if she’ll have him.