Ex-Texas US Rep. Blake Farenthold, who left office amid harassment allegations, dies at 63

[ad_1] Former Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, who left Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, has died. He was 63.

He died in a Corpus Christi hospital and suffered coronary heart and liver issues lately, Steve Ray, his former longtime political advisor, stated. Farenthold's spouse, Debbie Farenthold, confirmed that he died Friday.

Blake Farenthold was elected in 2010, upsetting long-serving Democratic U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz. Seven years later, Farenthold introduced that he would not search reelection.

In a video he posted on his marketing campaign's Fb web page on the time, he denied a former aide's three-year-old accusations, which included that he'd subjected her to sexually suggestive feedback and habits after which fired her after she complained. He apologized for an workplace environment he stated included “harmful gossip, offhand feedback, off-color jokes and habits that basically was lower than skilled.”

He stated within the video that if he stayed in Congress, he would have spent months making an attempt to vindicate himself.

“All of us make errors,” Ray stated Saturday. “He made some errors.”

Ray described him as a “techie” who was within the web and know-how earlier than getting concerned in politics.

“He did an amazing job as congressman for this space,” Ray stated, noting that Farenthold cared about combating crime and selling transparency. “His coronary heart was actually all the time in the precise place.”