25 Facts About Van Taylor

Van Taylor was the US representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district from 2019 to 2023, and was first elected in 2018.

Van Taylor previously served in the Texas House of Representatives for the 66th district in southwestern Collin 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 the 117th Congress.

Van Taylor is a descendant of Humble Oil co-founder Robert Lee Blaffer.

Van Taylor grew up in Midland, Texas, where he attended the Hillander School and San Jacinto Junior High School.

Van Taylor graduated from St Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Van Taylor earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 2001.

From January 2002 to December 2018, Van Taylor worked for Churchill Capital Company, a real estate investment banking and principal investment firm, as a real estate investment banker.

Van Taylor married Anne Coolidge, a real estate investment manager, in 2004.

In Iraq, Van Taylor was assigned to the Marine Corps' Company C, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion and fought with 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company.

Van Taylor participated in a casualty evacuation of 31 wounded Marines, transporting them safely to medical treatment.

In 2005 and 2006, Van Taylor ran for Texas's 17th congressional district in the US House of Representatives.

On December 2,2009, Van Taylor announced his candidacy for the District 66 Texas State House seat.

McCall left the House seat early, and Van Taylor was sworn into office on April 20,2010, by Collin County Judge Keith Self.

Van Taylor is considered a major ally of the Tea Party movement.

Van Taylor was endorsed by the North Texas Tea Party for his 2014 campaign for Texas Senate, District 8.

In 2017, Van Taylor introduced legislation to establish a registry of individuals who have been barred from employment at an educational facility.

Van Taylor was among 129 Republicans to oppose President Donald Trump's withdrawal from Syria.

Van Taylor was endorsed by the Club for Growth, a national conservative group, and With Honor, a cross-partisan political group supporting next-generation military veterans.

Van 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 Van Taylor is only the fourth person to represent it since then.

Van Taylor was reelected by over 12 percentage points even as President Donald Trump carried the district by only 1.

On May 19,2021, Van Taylor was one of 35 Republicans to join all Democrats in voting for legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the US Capitol.

Van Taylor's statements were repeated the next day by Breitbart News and circulated widely on social media.

Van Taylor formally withdrew from the runoff two days later, making Self the Republican nominee by default.