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A Republican U.S. Congressman from Texas has dropped out of his re-election race after it was revealed that he had been in an extra-marital relationship with a woman dubbed the “ISIS bride” by the press.
Rep. Van Taylor apologized Wednesday after ending his campaign.
“About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world,” Taylor wrote in an email. “I had an affair, it was wrong, and it was the greatest failure of my life. I want to apologize for the pain I have caused with my indiscretion, most of all to my wife Anne and our three daughters.”
Taylor had garnered only 49% in the Republican primary campaign and would have had to fight it out in a run-off election.
The stunning revelation was first reported by Breitbart News just one day before the primary election.
Taylor became a target for pro-Trump Republicans after he voted for the creation of the congressional committee to investigate the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol by protesters trying to overturn the official results of the 2020 presidential election.
The report accused Taylor of having an affair with a woman named Tania Joya for months. Joya provided Breitbart News with a screenshot of explicit communications with Taylor and also evidence that he had allegedly paid her $5,000 to keep quiet about the affair.
Joya is referred to as the “ISIS bride” for her former marriage to an ISIS commander and her activism against Islamist extremism.
The runner-up in the primary election, former Collin County Judge Keith Self, will likely win the seat for the 3rd District of Texas.
Taylor is married with three children.
This story originally appeared on TheBlaze.
