A former Texas Representative and undercover CIA operative announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
Will Hurd filed to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination on June 22, becoming the 12th Republican to enter the race.
“We live in complicated times and we need common sense,” said Hurd, who made his announcement while appearing on CBS News. “There are a number of generational defining challenges that we are faced with in the United States of America. Everything from the Chinese government trying to surpass us as the global superpower, the fact that inflation is persistent at a time when artificial intelligence is going to upend every single industry, and our kids – their scores in math and reading are the lowest they have ever been in this century.”
“These are the issues we should be talking about. And to be frank, I’m pissed we’re not talking about these things,” he said. “I believe that the Republican Party can be the party that talks about the future, not the past.”
Hurd served three terms in the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2021. During his time in Congress, Hurd gained a reputation as a moderate Republican who notably was the only Republican to vote against the American Health Care Act. He was heralded as the “future of the GOP” in 2017 by Politico, which wrote:
There’s little for Republicans not to like: Hurd is a young, eloquent, dark-skinned, social media-savvy legislator who solves problems like a technocrat and speaks with an earned authority on national security. He is an intellectual asset to the party; the efficiency-obsessed Hurd, who wants to build a “cyber National Guard” of young computer whizzes to protect the nation’s digital infrastructure, has been communicating with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, pitching projects for the White House’s new Office of American Innovation.
Hurd worked for the CIA from 2000 to 2009 where the San Antonio native went undercover in Pakistan. He joined a strategic advisory and cybersecurity firm after leaving the CIA.
Hurd announced his plans to leave Congress in August 2019. His district, Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, was won by Republican Tony Gonzales in 2020.
Former President Donald Trump currently leads in the polls, with just over 52% support. He is followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is polling around 21% and then former Vice President Mike Pence with almost 6%.
Hurd dismissed concerns about Trump’s overwhelming lead during his announcement.
“You can’t be afraid of Donald Trump. Too many candidates in this race are afraid of Donald Trump, but we also have to articulate a different vision,” he said.
Ahead of his announcement, Hurd has been courting voters in New Hampshire. He published an opinion piece in the NH Journal stressing the importance of securing the US-Canada border, where illegal immigration has increased in recent years.
