Texas Republican named in Bill Maher's quest to find worst U.S. congressman

Texas tea party favorite and former talk radio host Blake Farenthold has been targeted by liberal comedian Bill Maher. Click through to see jobs other politicians like Farenthold used to have. Texas tea party favorite and former talk radio host Blake Farenthold has been targeted by liberal comedian Bill Maher. Click through to see jobs other politicians like Farenthold used to have. Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Texas Republican named in Bill Maher's quest to find worst U.S. congressman 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

Texas tea party favorite Blake Farenthold has been highlighted in a comedian's quest to find the nation's worst member of Congress and he could now face a national TV campaign to try to oust him.

Stand-up comic and HBO talk show host Bill Maher picked Farenthold of Corpus Christi's District 27 in the first phase of his "flip a district" segment Friday after viewers nominated the Republican congressman.

Joining Farenthold on the list was Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). In the coming weeks, 14 more congressmen will be added with one of them ultimately singled out to face a yearlong campaign against them with a goal of "flipping" their district.

Maher said Rep. Farenthold "is the poster boy for why we're doing this," highlighting allegations that the Republican only won his seat in 2010 through backing of big money ad campaigns, and that he then held the seat in 2012 because redistricting changed the voting landscape in his favor.

If Farenthold is eventually chosen as Maher's worst member in the nation, Maher's show says it will put its full support behind his opponent.

"We will spend the year periodically looking at the district, meeting the entrenched incumbent, introducing his fresh-faced challenger, getting to know the people they want to serve, and generally doing our level best to flip that district," the Real Time with Bill Maher website says.

Farenthold's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment but the campaign against him has angered Texas Republicans who have come out in his support.

"I really don't think people in the local district will pay attention to a comic who's trying to make money," said Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

"He (Maher) doesn't live in Texas, doesn't live in the district, local residents have a right to choose who they like. We are 100 percent sure that Blake Farenthold will win this year," Munisteri said.

This is not the first time Farenthold has been held up as an example of dysfunction in U.S. politics.

He beat longtime incumbent Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Corpus Christi) in 2010 by less than 800 votes, a win that was largely credited to a last-minute $156,000 TV advertising blitz against Ortiz, funded by the conservative group 60 Plus Association.

It has been suggested that Ortiz's stance in favor of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform and Farenthold's position against it attracted money from drug companies that wanted the Affordable Care Act repealed.

Bill Maher alleges that what makes District 27 worse is that after his narrow victory in 2010, he said Farenthold was gerrymandered in ahead of the 2012 election by the re-drawing of district lines, which turned his area a bright red.

The district had been a Democratic stronghold held by Ortiz since it was created in 1982, with a voting population that was 72 percent Hispanic. Redistricting after the 2010 census dropped that number down to 49 percent, with the white/Anglo portion almost doubling.

At the time, Farenthold acknowledged he did gain an advantage and said the new map "gave (him) more of the Corpus Christi media market – the largest concentration of voters is in the area where I am best known."

But Texas Republicans say there was nothing sinister about that process which resulted in an 18-point win for the former local radio talk show host.

"When he won (in 2010) it wasn't resdistributed, so the idea that he won because of the redistribution is contrary to the facts," said Munisteri.

Munisteri also points out that parties of all sides try to sway redistribution in their favor when it comes around every 10 years.

"Democrats do it, Republicans do it, anyone who says this is shocking is wrong," Munisteri said. "There were 4 new districts after the 2010 census, Republicans got 1, Democrats got 3."