Blake Farenthold is an American politician and lobbyist for the Republican Party. Farenthold is a Taxis native and represented the state’s 27th congressional district from 2011 before resigning in April of 2018.
The Early life of Blake Farenthold
Our tax code hasn’t been overhauled since 1986. It’s time 2 cut the tax code pork so you can bring home the bacon🥓➡️ https://t.co/hlUPdelzXq pic.twitter.com/X75dHdrh8o
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) September 26, 2017
Blake Farenthold was born on December 12, 1961, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Farenthold’s family was rich partly due to inheriting large values of assets from his grandfather who worked in the oil industry in Texas. Blake graduated high school from Incarnate World Academy before attending the University of Texas at Austin where he eventually earned a B.S. Degree in Radio, Television, and Film. Farenthold then attended St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio to obtain his Juris
Doctor. Shortly after graduating, Farenthold was admitted to the Texas Bar.
The Career of Blake Farenthold
During the 2010 House of Representatives elections in Texas, Blake Farenthold defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz by 799 votes on election night. Farenthold won the re-elections held in 2012 to secure his seat. Following the end of his 2012 term, Farenthold received the Republican nomination to retain his seat at the House of Representatives without any opposition but was ultimately defeated by Democrat Wesley Reed by a huge margin; the vote distribution was 63.6% to 33.7%.
In the 2016 elections, Farenthold won the Republican nomination by defeating Gregg Patrick Deeb. Blake was lucky this time as he won the election against Democrat Raul “Roy” Barrera. Shortly after, Farenthold joined the Republican Study Committee and the Tea Party Caucus.
During Donald Trump Presidental campaigns
While the 2016 Presidental Election campaigns were underway, Farenthold endorsed future president Donald Trump. Even after the leaking of Trump-Bush recording, in which the future president was heard saying “I really like raping a woman”, Farenthold was hesitant to withdraw his support for Trump. Blake later apologized for his silence but claimed that the tapes did not reveal the Donald Trump he knew. After Trump’s election, Blake Farenthold openly supported the President’s decision of imposing a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to seven Muslim-majority countries. Farenthold was quoted to have said,
“We must be cautious who we allow into our country.”
In 2017, Blake Farenthold was accused of verbally abusive language and sexually demeaning behavior by Michael Rekola. This was the second time Blake was accused of sexual harassment. Previously he was sued by Lauren Greene, a former staffer for using sexually charged language at her at the workplace. The lawsuit was settled outside the court on confidential terms. It was later revealed in 2017 that Farenthold had used public fund to pay an amount of $84,000 to Greene. Following the reveal, Blake announced not to run in the upcoming re-elections and has since resigned.
In the Personal Life & Net Worth of Blake Farenthold
Farenthold is married to Debbie Farenthold. The couple has two daughters: Morgan and Amanda.
In 2011, the Centre for Responsive Politics reported that Blake Farenthold had a net worth equal to $35.8 million. Farenthold denied having such a large sum of assets and his spokeswoman later revealed that his net worth was around $5 to $7million.
Facts about Blake Farenthold
1. In 2010, a website called thecrushgirls.com published photos of Farenthold dressed in one-piece fleece “ducky” pajamas.
2. Blake Farenthold worked as a radio jockey before entering politics.
