Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd on Thursday launched a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, joining a crowded field looking to challenge front-runner former President Donald Trump.
"This morning, I filed to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States. This is a decision that my wife and I decided to do because we live in complicated times, and we need common sense," Hurd said on CBS.
Hurd has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump following the former president's indictment and arrest on federal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
"This is someone who is spitting in the face of the thousands of men and women who put themselves in harm's way every single day, who's away from their families every single day in order to protect our country," Hurd told CNN's Jake Tapper after the indictment of Trump was unsealed and the charges were detailed.
Hurd said the evidence provided in the federal indictment of Trump is "proof that this guy is not, should not be president of the United States, and we shouldn't be defending him."
Hurd had been fueling speculation about a potential presidential run with trips to early-voting primary states in recent months. Hurd was in New Hampshire last week and told local station WMUR 9 he was evaluating whether his candidacy would have a path to the GOP nomination. In January, he spoke at the annual meeting of the New Hampshire Republican Party -- the same event where Trump kicked off his 2024 campaigning. Hurd also visited Iowa for the Faith and Freedom Coalition's spring event that included several other 2024 GOP hopefuls.
Besides Trump, the field also includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Hurd was a rare Republican critic of Trump during his time in Congress from 2015 to 2021. Representing a swing district in Texas that covered the largest stretch of the US-Mexico border of any congressional seat, Hurd opposed Trump's border wall and argued it was less effective than other forms of border security.
Hurd was one of four House Republicans in 2019 to vote in support of a resolution condemning Trump's racist tweets targeting four Democratic congresswomen of color. He also authored a New York Times op-ed in 2018 arguing that Trump was being manipulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite his outspoken criticism, Hurd said in 2019 that he would vote for Trump the following year were he to be the GOP nominee.
Hurd was the only Black Republican in the House when he announced in 2019 that he would not seek reelection and instead pursue opportunities outside government to "solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security." Hurd was a CIA officer for almost a decade before coming to Congress. As a congressman, he served on the House Intelligence Committee, which is charged with oversight of the US intelligence community.
Hurd first ran for Congress in 2010, losing to Quico Canseco in a runoff for the GOP nomination. Four years later, Hurd defeated Canseco in another primary runoff before narrowly unseating Democratic Rep. Pete Gallego in the general election. He was narrowly reelected in 2016 and 2018, defeating Gallego and Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, respectively.
This story has been updated with additional background information.