DALLAS (AP) — U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Texas said Wednesday that he is ending his reelection campaign and admitted having an affair about a year ago.
The North Texas congressman made the announcement the day after former Collin County Judge Keith Self pushed him to a runoff for the Republican nomination.
Taylor, a former Marine and Iraq war combat veteran, was considered one of the Texas delegation’s most conservative members when he was elected in 2018. But he has been sharply criticized by the right wing of the party for voting to certify the 2020 election results and for supporting a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Self is an Army veteran and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He has claimed Taylor drifted from his conservative roots in the GOP-dominant district.
He heavily criticized Taylor’s votes on the election result and insurrection investigation, and Taylor vote to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol.
