Van Taylor
Van Taylor | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's3rddistrict | |
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Sam Johnson |
Succeeded by | Keith Self |
Member of theTexas Senate from the8thdistrict | |
In office January 13, 2015 – January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Ken Paxton |
Succeeded by | Angela Paxton |
Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the66thdistrict | |
In office April 20, 2010 – January 13, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Brian McCall |
Succeeded by | Matt Shaheen |
Personal details | |
Born | Nicholas Van Campen Taylor August 1, 1972 Dallas,Texas,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Anne Coolidge
(m.2004;div.2024) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Harvard University(BA,MBA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Rank | Major |
Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Nicholas Van Campen Taylor(born August 1, 1972), known asVan Taylor,[1]is an American businessman and Republican politician fromPlano,Texas.He was theU.S. representativeforTexas's 3rd congressional district from 2019 to 2023, and was first elected in 2018.
The district included much ofCollin County,a suburban county north ofDallas.A veteran of theIraq War,he represented the8th districtin theTexas Senatefrom 2015 to 2019. He also previously served in theTexas House of Representativesfor the66th districtin southwesternCollin County.On March 2, 2022, Taylor admitted to an extramarital affair and announced that he would suspend his reelection campaign and retire at the end of the117th Congress.
Early life, education, and career
[edit]A seventh-generation Texan, Taylor was born inDallas.[1]He is a descendant ofHumble Oilco-founder Robert Lee Blaffer.[2][3]He grew up inMidland,Texas, where he attended the Hillander School and San Jacinto Junior High School. He graduated fromSt. Paul's Schoolin Concord, New Hampshire. With numerous AP credits, he subsequently graduated in three years fromHarvard CollegeinCambridge,Massachusetts,from which he obtained aBachelor of Artsin history. He earned aMaster of Business AdministrationfromHarvard Business Schoolin 2001.[4][5]
From January 2002 to December 2018, Taylor worked for Churchill Capital Company,[6]areal estateinvestment bankingandprincipal investment firm,[7]as areal estate investment banker.[8]He previously worked forMcKinsey & CompanyandTrammell Crow Company.[9]
Taylor married Anne Coolidge, a real estateinvestment manager,in 2004.[10]
Military service
[edit]In Iraq, Taylor was assigned to the Marine Corps' Company C,4th Reconnaissance Battalionand fought with2nd Force Reconnaissance Company.As acaptain,Taylor led missions in advance ofTask Force TarawaduringOperation Iraqi Freedom,which detected and defeated severalFedayeenambushes.He also participated in a casualty evacuation of 31 wounded Marines, transporting them safely to medical treatment.
Taylor's military decorations include theNavy Commendation Medalwith "V", theCombat Action Ribbon,and thePresidential Unit Citation.Taylor left theMarine Corps Reserveas amajor.
2006 campaign for U.S. House
[edit]In 2005 and 2006, Taylor ran forTexas's 17th congressional districtin theU.S. House of Representatives.He won the Republican primary with 54.03% of the vote. With 40.31% of the vote in the general election, he lost to incumbent DemocratChet Edwards.[11]
Texas House of Representatives
[edit]2010 campaign
[edit]On December 2, 2009, Taylor announced his candidacy for theDistrict 66Texas State House seat. Plano city council member Mabrie Jackson had already resigned from the council to enter the House race.[12]On November 30, 2009, incumbent representative Brian McCall announced that he would not run for reelection.[13]Observers speculated that McCall had told Jackson that he would step down so that she could get a head start in the campaign. McCall also endorsed Jackson as his successor.
The candidates in the March 2 Republican primary were Wayne Richards, Jackson, and Taylor. While Jackson earned the largest number of votes (41%) in the primary, she was shy of the 50% plus one vote required to win the nomination outright.[14]Richards promptly endorsed Taylor, who then defeated Jackson in the Aprilrun-off election.McCall left the House seat early, and Taylor was sworn into office on April 20, 2010, by Collin County JudgeKeith Self.
Texas State Senate
[edit]2014 campaign
[edit]On August 2, 2013, Taylor announced he would seek the Republican Party's 2014 nomination for the Texas Senate,District 8seat held byKen Paxton,who was stepping down to run forstate attorney general.[15]
Political positions
[edit]Taylor is considered a major ally of theTea Party movement.[16]He was endorsed by the North Texas Tea Party for his 2014 campaign for Texas Senate, District 8.[17]
In 2017, Taylor introduced legislation to establish a registry of individuals who have been barred from employment at an educational facility. The measure, if adopted, would prevent any school employee, not just administration and faculty, from working at a school if the person is found to have engaged in an improper relationship with a student.[18]
Juneteenth
[edit]Taylor was one of two House Republicans to co-sponsor theJuneteenthNational Independence Day Act.[19]
Foreign policy
[edit]Taylor was among 129 Republicans to oppose PresidentDonald Trump'swithdrawalfromSyria.[20]
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Elections
[edit]2018
[edit]In August 2017, Taylor announced his candidacy for theUnited States House of RepresentativesforTexas's 3rd congressional district.Incumbent 13-term RepublicanSam Johnsonhad announced his retirement. Taylor was endorsed by theClub for Growth,a national conservative group,[21]and With Honor, a cross-partisan political group supporting next-generation military veterans.[22]Taylor secured the nomination after easily winning the March 6 primary.[23]He won the November 6 general election with 54.3% of the vote.[24]
Taylor's victory continued a run of Republican control in one of the first areas of Texas to turn Republican. The GOP has held the seat without interruption since a 1968 special election, and Taylor is only the fourth person to represent it since then. At the same time, it was the closest race in the district in over half a century; indeed, it was the first time since the regular 1968 election that a Democrat had crossed the 40% mark.
2020
[edit]Taylor was unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary. In the general election, he faced Democrat Lulu Seikaly. Some observers considered him potentially vulnerable due to the district's demographic changes and its high population of college-educated voters, who had been trending away from the GOP in recent years.[25]Taylor was reelected by over 12 percentage points even as PresidentDonald Trumpcarried the district by only 1.
Tenure
[edit]On May 19, 2021, Taylor was one of 35 Republicans to join all Democrats in voting for legislation to establish theJanuary 6 commissionmeant to investigate thestorming of the U.S. Capitol.[26]During his 2022 reelection campaign, this vote became a focal point for conservative critics and his opponents in the Republican primary, despite Taylor's conservative voting record on other issues.[27]
2022 campaign and allegations of infidelity
[edit]On February 27, 2022, two days before the Republican primary, right-wing media outletNational Fileposted an interview withTania Joya,a British woman then living in Plano, who said that she and Taylor had a nine-month sexual affair in 2020 and 2021.[28]Joya is the widow ofJohn Georgelas,an American who gained notoriety for joining theIslamic State(commonly known as ISIS) in 2013,[29]and has been dubbed the "ISIS bride" by the British tabloid press.[28][30]
Saying that she and Taylor met during a "reprogramming" session for formerjihadists,[28]Joya shared salacious details about the affair and said that Taylor had given her $5,000 for her credit card bills and personal expenses. Her statements were repeated the next day byBreitbart Newsand circulated widely on social media.[28][30]The Texas Tribunecould not independently verify any of Joya's claims.[30]In a statement toThe Dallas Morning News,Joya said that she was "annoyed at having to see her ex-lover's face on billboards" and approached Taylor's Republican primary opponent Suzanne Harp (who would finish third in the primary), hoping that Harp would privately persuade Taylor to drop out of the race, but Taylor did not do so, prompting Joya to make her statements public.[28]
On March 1, 2022, Taylor won 49% of the vote in the Republican primary, short of the 50% majority required to win outright, triggering a May 24runoffelection against runner-up and former Collin County judge Keith Self. The next day, in an email to supporters, Taylor announced the suspension of his reelection 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. 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 did not indicate that he would resign from office before the end of his term but a campaign spokesperson said that he would withdraw from the election.[28][30]Taylor formally withdrew from the runoff two days later, making Self the Republican nominee by default.[31]
Committee assignment
[edit]Caucus memberships
[edit]- For Country Caucus, Co-Chair[33]
- Problem Solvers Caucus[34]
- Republican Study Committee[35]
Electoral history
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Taylor | 45,475 | 84.7 | |
Republican | David Niederkorn | 5,052 | 9.4 | |
Republican | Alex Donkervoet | 3,185 | 5.9 | |
Total votes | 53,712 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Taylor | 169,520 | 54.2 | |
Democratic | Lorie Burch | 138,234 | 44.2 | |
Libertarian | Christopher Claytor | 4,604 | 1.5 | |
Independent | Jeff Simons (write-in) | 153 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 312,511 | 100.0 | ||
Republicanhold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Taylor (incumbent) | 230,512 | 55.1 | |
Democratic | Lulu Seikaly | 179,458 | 42.9 | |
Libertarian | Christopher Claytor | 8,621 | 2.1 | |
Total votes | 418,591 | 100.0 | ||
Republicanhold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Taylor (incumbent) | 31,489 | 48.8 | |
Republican | Keith Self | 17,058 | 26.5 | |
Republican | Suzanne Harp | 13,375 | 20.8 | |
Republican | Rickey Williams | 1,731 | 2.7 | |
Republican | Jeremy Ivanovskis | 818 | 1.3 | |
Total votes | 64,471 | 100.0 |
References
[edit]- ^abTexas Birth Index, 1903–1997.
- ^"From Humble Beginnings"(PDF).New Orleans Bar Association. October 21, 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 5, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 17,2018.
- ^"JANE OWEN Obituary – Houston, TX | Houston Chronicle".Legacy.com.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^"Connecting People, building relationships".Successnorthdallas.org. Archived fromthe originalon March 25, 2012.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^Vote Smart Bio: Van Taylor
- ^Linkedin Bio: Van Taylor
- ^"Real Estate Investment Banking & Investment Firm | Churchill Capital".www.churchillcapital.com.
- ^correspondent, Maria Recio American-Statesman."Chip Roy, Central Texas' newest congressman, returns to the halls of Congress".Austin American-Statesman.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^"79(R) SR 951 – Enrolled version – Bill Text".capitol.texas.gov.
- ^"Coolidge-Taylor wedding".Midland Reporter-Telegram.May 8, 2004.RetrievedFebruary 17,2018.
- ^"State Sen. Van Taylor".Texastribune.org.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^"Star Local: Plano Star Courier".Planostar.com.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/plano/stories/DN-txhouse_15met.ART.Central.Edition1.4bf7bab.html[dead link]
- ^"Error".Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2010.
- ^"Taylor to seek Paxton's Texas Senate seat | Dallas Morning News".Trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com. August 2, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^Tomlinson, Chris (January 15, 2013)."Texas House starts session with fight over rules, powers | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal".Lubbockonline.com.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^"First NTTP TeaApproval for 2014 – Van Taylor for State Senate, District 8".Northtexasteaparty.org. August 2, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon June 5, 2015.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^Elena Mejia Lutz, "Improper relations at school targeted",San Antonio Express-News,February 24, 2017, p. A5.
- ^"Cosponsors - H.R.1320 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Juneteenth National Independence Day Act".February 25, 2021.
- ^"Summary of H.J.Res. 77 (116th): Opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military…".
- ^Svitek, Patrick (August 23, 2017)."GOP state Sen. Van Taylor of Plano makes congressional run official".Texas Tribune.RetrievedSeptember 5,2017.
- ^"With Honor Endorses Nine Next-Generation Veterans for Congress".Politico.January 25, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 5,2019.
- ^"Texas Primary Election Results".The New York Times.March 7, 2018.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedDecember 12,2018.
- ^"Texas' 3rd Congressional District election, 2018 – Ballotpedia".Ballotpedia.RetrievedNovember 17,2018.
- ^@Redistrict (September 17, 2020)."Whenever someone has asked me my" sleeper "House race of 2020, this has been my answer of late. #TX03 is by far the…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^LeBlanc, Paul (May 19, 2021)."Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission".CNN.RetrievedMay 19,2021.
- ^Gillman, Todd J. (January 27, 2022)."Rep. Van Taylor's rivals say Trump won, Jan. 6 no big deal, and he's out of touch for disagreeing".The Dallas Morning News.Dallas, Texas.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
- ^abcdefGillman, Todd J. (March 2, 2022)."Rep. Van Taylor apologizes for affair with 'ISIS bride,' abruptly drops reelection bid".The Dallas Morning News.Dallas, Texas.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
Joya said she didn't intend to inject herself into the election and didn't even realize the primary was five days away when she contacted Harp. She was just annoyed at having to see her ex-lover's face on billboards as she drove around Plano. "All I wanted was for Suzanne Harp to just say, 'Hey, I know your little scandal with Tania Joya. Would you like to resign before we embarrass you?' But it didn't happen like that," Joya told The News.
- ^Wood, Graeme (November 3, 2017)."From the Islamic State to Suburban Texas".The Atlantic.Washington, D.C.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
- ^abcdSvitek, Patrick (March 2, 2022)."U.S. Rep. Van Taylor ends reelection campaign after he admits to affair".The Texas Tribune.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
- ^Caldwell, Emily (March 11, 2022)."Keith Self, ex-Collin County judge, now GOP nominee for Rep. Van Taylor's seat after incumbent exits".The Dallas Morning News.Dallas, Texas.RetrievedMarch 21,2022.
- ^"Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives".clerk.house.gov.RetrievedMay 28,2020.
- ^"For Country Caucus Announces Chairs, Members for 117th Congress".U.S. Representative Van Taylor.February 25, 2021.RetrievedApril 29,2021.
- ^"Featured Members".Problem Solvers Caucus.RetrievedMarch 28,2021.
- ^"Member List".Republican Study Committee. Archived fromthe originalon January 1, 2019.RetrievedDecember 21,2017.
- ^"2018 Primary Election Official Results".Texas Secretary of State.Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2018.RetrievedMarch 8,2018.
- ^"Texas Election Results".Texas Secretary of State.RetrievedDecember 5,2018.
- ^"Texas Election Results - Official Results".Texas Secretary of State.RetrievedNovember 26,2020.
External links
[edit]- 1972 births
- 21st-century American legislators
- American Episcopalians
- American investment bankers
- Businesspeople from Texas
- Harvard College alumni
- Harvard Business School alumni
- Living people
- McKinsey & Company people
- Politicians from Dallas
- People from Midland, Texas
- Politicians from Waco, Texas
- Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- Republican Party Texas state senators
- United States Marine Corps officers
- United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War
- United States Marine Corps reservists