Behan unsuccessfully sought the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the 1997 general election in the Wicklow constituency.
[3] He did not win a nomination until December 2006, when he was one of three candidates selected by the party for the 2007 general election.
In his letter of resignation he stated: "I intend to adopt an independent stance on each and every issue which comes before the Dáil from now on.
"[5] He stood for re-election in Wicklow at the 2011 general election as an independent, but lost his seat receiving 6% of the first preference vote, down from 14.5% in 2007.
He was re-elected to Wicklow County Council in the 2019 local elections on the first count, having topped the poll in Bray East with 1,880 (just under 29%) first preference votes.