WASHINGTON _ Besieged by allegations of crude and verbally abusive behavior, Corpus Christi Rep. Blake Farenthold has decided to not to seek reelection.
Mike Bergsma, chairman of the Nueces County Republican Party, confirmed the decision to The Dallas Morning News.
"His campaign manager told me he is withdrawing from the race, will serve out his term," Bergsma said. "It's a shame. He's my friend, and I think he's a fine congressman."
House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke with Farenthold twice on Wednesday, according to a GOP official, and was widely believed to be urging him to step down. Multiple messages left with Farenthold's staff have not been returned.
Some Republicans and Democrats have blasted Farenthold over complaints he engaged in lewd conversations with staff and ran a hostile workplace _ and, most damaging, settled a sexual harassment complaint with $84,000 in public funds.
The retirement news comes a day after a former aide asserted that the four-term Republican made lewd comments about the aide's fiancee and their sex life, and managed a work environment so stressful that he required medical treatment and counseling.
That aide, Michael Rekola, approached the House Ethics Committee about Farenthold's behavior, according to CNN. Last week, the committee opened a formal investigation into complaints filed in 2014 by another former staffer, Lauren Greene, over sexual harassment, gender discrimination and a hostile work environment.
Greene received the $84,000 settlement, but Farenthold has maintained his innocence in that case and vowed to repay taxpayers. In 2015, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics reviewed Greene's allegations and found they lacked enough merit for the House Ethics Committee to proceed with an investigation.
Farenthold has also blasted a system of secrecy surrounding the settlement process.
Two well-known Republicans had challenged Farenthold in the March primary. One boasted the endorsement Thursday of Farenthold's colleague in the state's congressional delegation _ an intraparty attack by Austin Rep. Roger Williams with few precedents in Texas politics.
Texas Democrats called on Farenthold to resign immediately "for his vile behavior," said the party's executive director Crystal Perkins. "Republican Blake Farenthold has no business holding public office. The fact is, Farenthold has violated the public trust and shown a pattern of demeaning, degrading, and disrespectful conduct towards women."
But in an age of hyper-focus on sexual misconduct, others worry he's being unfairly lumped in with far worse actors. Many female aides, past and present, have circulated a letter defending the congressman from the allegations. In the letter signed by 11 women, they wrote "he has always treated us fairly and with dignity and respect."
Farenthold was swept into office in the 2010 tea party wave, defeating a 28-year Democratic incumbent by a few hundred votes. He's spent the last several weeks trying to survive the 2017 wave of housecleaning that has hit politicians, media magnates and celebrities as women step forward with claims of harassment or even assault.
"It's only with the revelation of this sexual harassment settlement paid for with taxpayer funds that he found himself in hot water," said Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University's Baker Institute. "That opened the door for two very credible primary challengers."
Texas will see unusual turnover in its congressional delegation next year. Farenthold would be the eighth House member, out of 36, to announce retirement at the end of their current terms, under a range of circumstances.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, the longest-serving Texan in Congress, quit after lewd text messages he sent a mistress surfaced. Two Republicans face term limits as committee chairman: Financial Services Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Dallas and Science chairman Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio.
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, recently turned 87 and was the first to announce plans to exit after 2018. El Paso Democrat Beto O'Rourke is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz. Reps. Gene Green, D-Houston, and Ted Poe, R-Humble, also decided to retire.
Elizabeth Peace, a former spokeswoman for Farenthold, used a podcast Monday to back up Lauren Greene's accusation that the congressman engaged in inappropriate sexual banter with staff. However, she did not accuse Farenthold of sexual harassment.
"My boss would make sexual jokes about women and I didn't stand up and say: 'That's offensive,' " Peace, a former television news anchor, said in her "Girl, Let's Talk" podcast. She added that about a "half dozen times, I did say: 'Congressman, you can't say that' or 'Congressman that's not appropriate' or 'Congressman, there's an intern in the room.'"
On Thursday, CNN reported that Rekola, who served as Farenthold's communications director in 2015, said the congressman once made crude comments about his fiancee just before their wedding in July 2015.
Rekola alleges that the congressman said, within earshot of others, that Rekola should be sure that his partner performs fellatio before "she walks down the aisle" because "it will be the last time."
Farenthold, he said, also joked about whether it was appropriate for Rekola's now-wife to wear a white wedding gown, a reference Rekola interpreted as a comment about whether she had had pre-marital sex, according to CNN.
Bergsma, the Nueces County GOP chairman, said he wishes Farenthold had more of a chance to defend himself against the allegations.
"I am supposing they felt like it was such an uphill climb now that it would be best for the congressman, his family, the district and the party for him to withdraw," he said.
Sexual harassment is real "and you don't want to disbelieve somebody," he said. "But at the same time ... we're not talking Weinstein here," referring to the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by a multitude of women of sexual assault and abuse.
Among the five Republicans who jumped into the race for Farenthold's seat are Michael Cloud, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee, and Bech Bruun, who recently announced his resignation as chairman of the Texas Water Board.
Bruun, who grew up in Corpus Christi and now lives in Austin, welcomed the endorsement of Williams, an unusual move by a sitting congressman against a fellow incumbent.
"At a time when the Coastal Bend faces serious challenges in the on-going recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, Congressional District 27 needs effective leadership now more than ever," Williams said a statement issued by Bruun's campaign.
Cloud, a former chairman of the Victoria County Republican Party, emphasized that he entered the race in September_ long before reports of Farenthold's settlement with Greene. He's been endorsed by Ron Paul, a former congressman who has run for president as a Republican and as a Libertarian.
"We've been in this race for months," Cloud told The News. "We need people of courage and character to stand up to the culture and corruption in DC."
Among the lesser known candidates for Farenthold's seat are Christopher Mapp, Jerry Hall and Eddie Gassman. Hall ran for Congress in 1996 and 2010 and announced this year's bid just before the news broke that Farenthold used taxpayer dollars in his settlement.
"It's created a real black eye for the Republican Party," Hall said.
