Rep. Will Hurd has no plans to leave politics after exiting the House following the 2020 elections.
Hurd, 42, is set to retire from Congress after six years representing a district bordering Mexico for hundreds of miles, stretching from western San Antonio to just outside El Paso. The former CIA operative has been a leader among House Republicans on national security and intelligence issues, and his retirement announcement caught many colleagues by surprise.
Hurd told the Washington Examiner he would travel the country to help Republican candidates in GOP primaries, trying to broaden the party’s diversity and reach.
“If the Republican Party doesn’t start looking like America and appealing to all Americans, there won’t be a Republican Party in America,” Hurd said. “So how do you do that? I’m gonna be helping candidates in primaries — good candidates.”
Hurd said the party has to adjust its approach out of political necessity. In the 2018 midterm elections, House Democrats picked up two seats by defeating incumbent Republicans in suburban Houston and Dallas. Democrats are targeting several more House seats in the presidential election year of 2020.
“Texas is purple,” Hurd said.
Hurd pointed to Democratic gains in 2018 statehouse elections, and the party’s efforts to win a majority in the chamber in 2020.
“The trend that you saw start in California, that went to the northeast and now we most recently saw in Virginia, is happening in Texas,” he said. “And what were the three groups that drove this? Communities of color, people under the age of 29 and women with a college degree in the suburbs.”
The suburbs are a priority for the Republican Party since Democrats won the House majority in 2018 through suburban districts.
“If we don’t have people that can be talking and be attractive to those three groups of voters, we’re going to have problems across this country. So politically, I’m saying, ‘Look, we can’t take the House back unless we do it through the Northeast,’” Hurd said.
It’s possible Hurd could appear on ballots again, in a national contest. He was a headliner last month at a New Hampshire fundraiser for a Republican state senator, sparking chatter that Hurd could seek the White House in 2024 when either President Trump will be forced from office after two terms or a Democratic president will be seeking reelection. Hurd has previously said he was eyeing a presidential run, though he’s made no decisions about it.
For now, he’s working through his organization, the Future Leaders Fund, run by his campaign manager in Texas races, Justin Hollis. Launched by Hurd last month, the Future Leaders Fund is a super PAC with a goal of electing more Republican minority candidates.
