Blake Farenthold

Blake Farenthold
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Solomon Ortiz
Personal details
Born	Randolph Blake Farenthold (1961-12-12) December 12, 1961[1] Corpus Christi, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Debbie Farenthold
Children	2
Residence	Corpus Christi, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas St. Mary's University
Occupation	Attorney/Consultant
Religion	Episcopalian

Randolph Blake Farenthold^[2] (born December 12, 1961) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Texas's 27th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Farenthold was born and raised in Corpus Christi, the son of Mary Sue (née Ogg) and George Randolph "Randy" Farenthold. His paternal grandfather, George Edward Farenthold, was a Belgian immigrant who was the descendant of an aristocratic industrialist family and worked in the oil industry in Texas.^{[3] [4]} Farenthold attended Incarnate Word Academy and the University of Texas at Austin where he received a BS in Radio, Television, and Film. He also graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio.^[5]

Radio career

Farenthold's pre-political career includes working as a radio disc jockey in high school and college, seven years of practicing law at the Kleberg Law Firm in Corpus Christi and founding Farenthold Consulting LLC, a computer consulting and web design firm.

Farenthold co-hosted Lago in the Morning, a conservative talk radio program, until he began his political campaign.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Farenthold defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz by 799 votes on election night.^[6] Ortiz asked for a manual recount. On Monday, November 22, Ortiz conceded the race to Farenthold. Farenthold's final margin of victory over Ortiz was 47.85 to 47.1 percent held.^[7] Ortiz had represented the district since its creation in 1982.

2012

Redistricting after the 2010 census made Farenthold's district significantly more Republican. His old district had been 70 percent Latino, but the new map shifted most of the Latino areas to the newly-created 34th district. To make up for the loss in population, his district was shifted well to the north and east, absorbing some heavily Republican territory near Houston and Austin.

He defeated Democratic nominee Rose Meza Harrison 57%-39%.^[8]

Tenure

Farenthold has joined the Republican Study Committee, as well as the Tea Party Caucus. Since redistricting in 2011, his district runs along the middle Texas gulf coast from Corpus Christi to Bay City and inland to Luling, and includes Aransas, Calhoun, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton, and parts of Bastrop, Caldwell, and Gonzales counties.

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (Vice Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Healthcare, and Entitlements
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management (Vice Chairman)
  • Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Personal life

Farenthold lives with his wife Debbie and two daughters Morgan and Amanda in Corpus Christi. He is the step-grandson of Sissy Farenthold, a long-time Democratic icon in Texas, who was married to his grandfather, George Farenthold, from 1950-1985. ^{[citation needed]}

In 1972, when Farenthold was ten years old, his father disappeared and was later found dead, his body having washed ashore after being weighed down with a cement block and deposited in Corpus Christi Bay.^[9] The gangland-style murder was the work of enemies of the elder Farenthold, who feared he would testify against a group of con artists who had tried to defraud him out of $100,000.^[10]

Electoral history

References

External links

• Congressman Blake Farenthold official U.S. House site
• Blake Farenthold for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Profile at The Texas Tribune