A Texas Republican congressman will not be seeking reelection after he admitted to cheating on his wife, The Texas Tribune reports.
Rep. Van Taylor (TX-3rd district) made the announcement on Wednesday, hours after he finished first in a five-way primary with 49% of the vote, just missing the 50% needed to secure the nomination. He was forced into a runoff with former Collin County Judge Keith Self who finished second in the contest, receiving 27% of the vote.
Taylor, a married father of three admitted to cheating on his wife in an email to constituents.
“About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world,” Taylor said. “I had an affair, it was wrong, and it was the greatest failure of my life. I want to apologize for the pain I have caused with my indiscretion, most of all to my wife Anne and our three daughters.”
The day before the primary, the conservative outlet Breitbart News ran a story claiming that Taylor had an affair with a woman name Tania Joya, and paid her $5,000 to keep quiet.
According to the Texas Tribune, Joya is referred to as “ISIS bride” because she was once married to a commander for the Islamic State.
Taylor has until March 16 to remove his name from the runoff ballot, which would make Self the Republican nominee for the seat and will face Democratic nominee Sandeep Srivastava. Srivastava faces an uphill battle considering that the district was redrawn and became more conservative.
