Blake Farenthold and Congressional District 27, which stretches from Bastrop in Central Texas, south to Corpus Christi on the Gulf Coast.
Rep. Blake Farenthold may resign before the end of his current term in the House of Representatives after all. That news comes from anonymous sources who spoke to Politico, a global news and information company focused on politics and based in Washington, D.C. The Republican Congressman from Corpus Christi announced last December that he would not seek re-election in the 2018 General Election, but refused to resign amid calls for him to step down.
The four-term Congressman from Corpus Christi resigned after news that $84,000 in taxpayer money was used to settle a sexual harassment claim against him in 2014. Although he denied the allegations cited in the official complaint, when he resigned he admitted to allowing an unprofessional atmosphere to exist in his office.
Resigning now could stop an Ethics Committee investigation into the settlement and other allegations of inappropriate behavior by the representative with other members of staff.
According to Politico, Farenthold has discussed the possibility of resigning with several top Republicans. Depending on when he resigns, it could trigger a special election. It could also leave District 27 without representation until after the first of the year when the person elected in November to fill that seat will be sworn in and put to work.
“The Congressman has no plans to resign at this time,” Farenthold spokesperson Stacey Daniels told Politico March 20. She repeated that statement to other major news outlets the following day.
Primary run-off elections between two Democrats and two Republicans will be held May 22 to determine which of the two will face off on Nov. 6.
On the ballot in the May 22 Democratic run off are Roy Barrera and Eric Holguin. Candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the open seat are Bech Bruun and Michael Cloud.
