As two of the highest-ranking Republicans in Tennessee called on embattled Rep. Jeremy Durham to resign from the legislature, the Franklin Republican vowed Monday to remain in his seat and campaign for re-election.
The joint announcement from House Speaker Beth Harwell and Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes came amid a rapid series of events that unfolded after The Tennessean published an investigation Sunday on inappropriate text messages and concerns over the legislature’s sexual harassment policy.
“In light of these recent revelations, I do think it is important that Representative Durham step down from his position as a member of this body so that the legislators can continue to focus on the important work that Tennesseans expect us to focus on,” Haynes said.
Haynes made the statement at a news conference with Harwell, House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada and House Speaker Pro Tempore Curtis Johnson hours after Tennessee Democrats called on Harwell, Casada and other GOP legislative officials to resign from their leadership posts over how they handled sexual harassment complaints.
When asked whether Durham should resign his seat, Harwell said, “I think he needs help, and I think it would be in his best interest” to step down.
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, who didn’t attend the news conference because he was stuck in traffic, said that for Durham “there are things that are more important than being in the legislature.”
The comments from Republican leaders come after a Tennessean investigation focused on three women who said they received inappropriate text messages from Durham. Durham resigned Sunday as House majority whip, blaming the media as the reason. That’s not enough, Haynes and Harwell said.
“The (Tennessean investigation) revealed credibility to the rumors,” Harwell said in a statement. But she said that “as of this moment, no one has contacted me.”
“If the rumors I continue to hear regarding Representative Durham are true, Representative Durham needs to focus on his family and receiving the help he needs,” Harwell said.
In a statement emailed late Monday, Durham denied ever sexually harassing anyone and said he planned to remain in his legislative seat.
“I’ve never sexually harassed anyone, and I’m sorely disappointed that members of my own party would rush to such judgment given the that (sic) no complaints were ever filed and the general lack of evidence suggesting I did anything wrong,” Durham said
Rep. David Alexander, R-Winchester, recently told The Tennessean a woman called him to discuss potentially filing a sexual harassment complaint against Durham. Legislative officials won’t confirm whether the woman, or anyone, has filed any sexual harassment complaint against anyone.
The Tennessean investigation included a description of the text messages sent to two women and verified they were sent from Durham’s cellphone number. Another woman described texts she said she had received from Durham. The women provided the texts on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from Durham.
One woman in her mid-20s, who worked in various capacities at the statehouse, said that during the 2013 legislative session, Durham repeatedly sent text messages and Facebook messages, sometimes late into the night. One text message, after 10 p.m., says he misses her. In another text, at about 1:30 a.m., Durham asks her for pictures.
A second woman, in her early 20s and whose work required her to be at the statehouse, also said she received dozens of text messages from Durham during the 2013 session and after. A text from Durham, sent at about 1 a.m., asks the woman for pictures.
“For me, I was just trying to engage professionally, from one professional to another,” the woman told The Tennessean. “And he crossed the line: You don’t text and constantly message on Facebook and ask to meet up at bars in the evening.”
The 32-year-old Durham continues to say he doesn’t remember sending the text messages. He has not denied sending them.
“This is an issue that I take extremely seriously but I cannot respond to vague and anonymous accusations. On multiple occasions, I’ve requested factual information such as the context of the alleged messages and still haven’t received anything,” Durham said Monday in his statement.
Williamson County Republican Party Chairman Julie Hannah Taleghani said that (continue reading at Tennessean)