Nude Selfie Ends Congressman’s Career

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year after a naked selfie and his private Facebook messages were made public.

Barton told the Dallas Morning News in an interview he will retire, a swift change from several weeks ago, when the long-time congressman said he planned to run again in 2018.

“I’ve always listened to people in Texas and worked for them in Washington, and I’ve been listening to a lot of people the last week in Texas,” Barton told the Dallas Morning News. “There are enough people who lost faith in me that it’s time to step aside and let there be a new voice for the 6th District in Washington, so I am not going to run for re-election.”

In a statement, Barton praised his record in Congress and thanked his constituents and supporters.

“As a young Congressman, my slogan was ‘listening to you in Texas, working for you in Washington.’ For me that was never just a saying, but a commitment — a way of life,” he said. “Over the last 33 years, I have held thousands of public meetings and visited with so many great people in Texas on issues important to them. In Washington, I have voted over 20,000 times on the House floor to hopefully make life a little better for the people in the 6th District. (Read more from “Nude Selfie Ends Congressman’s Career” HERE)

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