Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s former House speaker says he won’t run for reelection in 2020, ending a long legislative career tarnished by his involvement in a secret sexual harassment settlement.

Republican Rep. Jeff Hoover says it’s the right time for him to step aside from the legislature and focus on his law practice and business interests.

Hoover stepped down as House speaker in early 2018 after acknowledging he settled sexual harassment claims with a woman who served as a Republican staffer. Hoover denied harassing the staff member but said he sent inappropriate text messages that he said were consensual.

His statement this week acknowledges that he made mistakes but has “learned and grown from them.”

Hoover became the first Republican speaker of Kentucky’s House in nearly 100 years in 2017.