Congressman Blake Farenthold resigns months after sexual harassment settlement revelation

AUSTIN, Texas — Minutes after embattled Congressman Blake Farenthold resigned, the Republicans and Democrats looking to replace him seized the opportunity to stand out.

“While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," Farenthold said in a video posted Friday afternoon.

Farenthold also thanked his family for "their unwavering support and most importantly the people that elected me."

"I’m able to look back at the entirety of my career in public office and say that it was well worthwhile," he said.

The resignation means a special or emergency election must be held. The winner would serve out less than a year in office to complete his unexpired term.

More: What happens to Texas' 27th Congressional District now that Blake Farenthold resigned?

Swift reactions

His resignation follows his earlier announcement that he would not seek a fifth term.

His decision, in December, came amidst the revelation that taxpayer funds were used to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit involving him and former aide.

There are Democratic and Republican primary runoffs for Texas' 27th Congressional District set for May 22. The two Republicans are Bech Bruun and Michael Cloud. The two Democrats are Raul (Roy) Barrera and Eric Holguin.

Holguin and Barrera each criticized Farenthold’s apparent aversion to work with Democrats and independents in Washington to the advantage of his constituents in the Coastal Bend.

Holguin said Farenthold has been too plagued by scandal to have been effective for the district.

“I’m glad we can put this distraction behind us and focus on what’s important – strengthening our local economy, building up our port and focusing on our families.”

Barrera said he hoped the 27th District would not remain under Republican control after November.

“(Resigning) is the best thing (Farenthold) could have done,” Barrera said.

In a statement, Cloud distinguished himself as a “grassroots leader,” a longtime voter in District 27 and “the only candidate to enter this race even when it looked like an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent.”

“This situation illustrates the importance of having people of integrity and faith represent us in Congress,” Cloud said. “This was a stated reason as to why the other four candidates in this race endorsed me.”

Bruun, his Republican primary opponent, also issued a statement:

"I remain focused on the May 22 run-off election. I believe the people of Congressional District 27 need conservative, effective representation now more than ever, which is the primary reason I entered this race. I'm hopeful that Congressman Farenthold will honor his promise to repay the $84,000 owed to taxpayers so that we can close this chapter and focus on issues that matter most to the constituents of Congressional District 27."

Farenthold's resignation became effective 5 p.m. Friday.

More: Candidates in Texas' 27th Congressional District look ahead to May runoff

More: What is Texas's 27th Congressional District?

Conservative newcomer goes to Washington

Farenthold, a political neophyte at the time, rode the tea party wave that toppled the Democratic majority in the U.S. House in 2010. Before that, he was a little-known Corpus Christi business owner and a sidekick on a local talk radio show. But after emerging from a crowded Republican primary field, he was able to upset Congressman Solomon Ortiz, one of the most entrenched Texas Democrats in Washington who had represented the district since 1983.

Still, the scandal that would drive Farenthold into early retirement was foreshadowed on that 2010 campaign. Photographs emerged of him wearing duck-embroidered pajamas in the company of two suggestively dressed women were widely circulated during the campaign. The pictures, taken at a costume-party charity event, went viral on the internet and were the subject of satire blog called blakespajamas.com. Farenthold managed to withstand the dust-up and narrowly defeated Ortiz in one of the closest congressional races of the cycle.

More: Farenthold: From political neophyte giant-slayer to casualty of scandal

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Farenthold's current troubles began after he won his third term in 2014 when his former communications director Lauren Greene filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and allowing a hostile work environment take root in his congressional office.

Greene also complained that Farenthold had openly confessed having risque fantasies and even "wet dreams" about her. Farenthold denied the claims, attributing them to the acts of an employee he had let go for sub-par work performance.

Even though the lawsuit was settled through a then-secret agreement, the Office of Congressional Ethics cleared him of wrongdoing and Farenthold was again comfortably re-elected in 2016.

But by the latter half of 2017, public attitudes about the sexual behavior of men in power began to shift. What started as backlash against reports of sexual harassment and intimidation by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein began creeping into the worlds of business, media and politics.

More: Blake Farenthold, Texas lawmaker accused in sexual harassment suit, won't seek re-election

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Dogged by controversy

Politico first reported that Farenthold's settlement of $84,000 was paid by taxpayers. The congressman, hoping to weather the controversy and continue with plans to seek a third term in 2018, at first promised to repay the government. That has still not happened and Farenthold later was forced to withdraw from the race.

“I had no idea how to run a congressional office and as a result, I'd allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive, and decidedly unprofessional,” Farenthold said in mid-December when he announced in a webcast that he would not seek re-election. “It accommodated destructive gossip, offhand comments, off-color jokes and behavior that, in general, was less than professional.”

Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee has launched investigations into his behavior as a congressman and whether his congressional office has been used for campaign purposes. The investigations are still in progress.

Brandey Batey, vice chairman of the Nueces County Republican Party, thanked the outgoing congressman for his work on a variety of areas, including Homeland Security, Government Oversight and Reform, veterans' benefits and spending control.

"It was Congressman Blake Farenthold’s choice to resign and we support his decision. We know that he would not have come to such a decision without much reflection and thought," he said. "We are (confident) that either candidate chosen in our Primary Runoff will continue the good work started by Congressman Farenthold."

Staff writers Eleanor Dearman and Tim Acosta contributed to this report.