(AP) U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Texas said Wednesday that he was ending his reelection campaign and admitted having an affair following reports that he had been in a relationship with the widow of an American-born recruiter for the Islamic State group.
The North Texas congressman’s announcement came the day after former Collin County Judge Keith Self forced Taylor into a runoff for the Republican nomination.
Several days before Tuesday’s primary election, some right-wing websites reported on an interview with Tania Joya, who said she had an affair with Taylor that lasted from October 2020 to June 2021. Joya, of the Dallas suburb of Plano, told the Dallas Morning News on Monday night that she had met the congressman through her work as an ex-jihadist helping to reprogram extremists.
