An Ex-Congressman has rejected Texas Governor Greg Abbott's request that he pay for a special election to fill his old seat.

Former Congressman Blake Farenthold of the 27th District resigned from his seat in April 2018 amid sexual harassment allegations. Once it was discovered that Farenthold used over $84,000 in taxpayer money to pay a 2015 sexual harassment claim, he promised to personally pay it all back, but has yet to live up to that promise.

Since his resignation, Governor Greg Abbott has called for a special election on June 30th to fill Farenthold’s former seat, and last week asked him to pay back the settlement amount to help cover impending election costs.

On Wednesday, May 2, Farenthold rejected Abbott’s request, claiming he shouldn’t fit the bill for an election he didn’t call for and doesn’t think is necessary.

In his original letter, Abbott had affirmed that he can’t force Farenthold to pay back the settlement amount, but did insist that, “. . . the 27th Congressional District should not again pay the price for your actions.”

In his counter letter, Farenthold defended his decision to pay the settlement with taxpayer funds, claiming that he had been advised not to pay it out of his own pocket for fear that it could have been perceived as a bribe.

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