Blake Farenthold
U.S. Rep. District 27 - Republican

(This biography excerpted from candidate website)

Blake Farenthold is a first-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Corpus Christi in Texas Congressional District 27. He was elected to office in 2010 in one of the country’s biggest upsets, defeating 28-year incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz Sr.

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Blake is from a well-known political family. He is the step-grandson of Sissy Farenthold, a long-time liberal Democratic icon in Texas, who was married to his grandfather, George Farenthold, from 1950-1985. His grandmother, Annie Blake Morgan, was married to Hayden Head Sr., a longtime South Texas political power broker instrumental in the election of Republican U.S. Senator John Tower. Head was also influential in deepening the Port of Corpus Christi ship channel, establishing Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and building Choke Canyon Reservoir

Blake attended Incarnate Word Academy, the University of Texas at Austin where he received a BS in Radio, Television, and Film, and St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.

Blake met his wife Debbie while at college waiting in line for tickets to a Jimmy Buffett concert. They have two daughters. Morgan attends Texas Tech and Amanda attends Vanderbilt University.

Since his election, Blake has become widely recognized for his work on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, helping lead the fight against Fast and Furious, a program run by the U.S. Department of Justice where federal agents put over 30,000 weapons into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, then halted all tracking activities of where those weapons were going. One of those weapons was used to kill a U.S law enforcement official.

Blake also serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He is also a member of the Tea Party Caucus. Additionally, Blake serves on the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and is a member of the Republican Study Committee.