Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, the Republican who represented District 23, announced Thursday morning that he is running for president in 2024.
He represented the sprawling district that extends from San Antonio to El Paso along the U.S-Mexico border from 2014 and announced he would not seek re-election for a fourth congressional run in 2019.
Recommended Videos
Hurd was born and raised in the San Antonio area. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1995 before heading to Texas A&M for college.
He would later become student body president in 1999.
Hurd graduated in 2000 with a computer science degree and a job lined up at the CIA.
He spent nearly a decade in service before becoming a partner in a strategic advisory firm in 2010.
Hurd won his first election in the District 23 race against Democrat incumbent Pete Gallego by a margin of more than 2,000 votes in 2014. He later faced Gallego again in the 2016 election, where the race was decided by 3,051 votes. Due to increased turnout, Hurd won by less than 2% of the vote.
Hurd’s final congressional run in 2018 was one of District 23′s closest, where he faced Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones. She won 48.73% of the vote, while Hurd won 49.17%, a difference of 0.44% or 926 votes.
The congressman announced he would not be pursuing a fourth term in 2019.
Hurd later began working on a book titled “American Reboot,” which debuted in March 2022.
Who’s currently vying for the Republican nomination?
The Republican ballot for president in the primaries next year will be crowded as several high-profile GOP candidates have announced their runs.
Those on the Republican ticket are the following:
- Former President Donald Trump
- Former Vice President Mike Pence
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
- Former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
- Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
- Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
- North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
- Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
The primary election in Texas will be on March 5, 2024.