WILL HURD

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder says he is ending his 2024 Republican campaign for president.

Republican businessman Perry Johnson has suspended his long-shot bid for president after failing to gain traction in the race.

The former Texas congressman, who failed to qualify for two presidential debates, throws his support behind Nikki Haley.

Former Texas congressman Will Hurd has suspended his Republican presidential bid, abandoning a brief campaign built on criticizing Donald Trump at a time when his party seems even more determined to embrace the former president.

Some of Donald Trump’s top Republican rivals addressed a large, influential gathering of Iowa evangelical Christians on Saturday night.

With more than a year until the 2024 presidential contest, the field of candidates is largely set.

Anemic poll numbers barred him from the debate stage, but Hurd also fell short of another requirement by declining to pledge his support for the eventual Republican nominee: “I will not sign a blood oath to Donald Trump.”

The 45-year-old Hurd got into politics after first being a CIA officer, spending nine years in the CIA.

Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, the Republican who represented District 23, announced Thursday morning that he is running for president in 2024.

The former member of the U.S. House will likely be the highest-profile Texan to enter the 2024 race, but he’ll be an underdog.

Former Texas congressman Will Hurd says he's running for president and calls Republican primary front-runner Donald Trump a “failed politician” who lost the House, the Senate and the White House.

Race has become a central issue in the 2024 presidential contest as the GOP’s primary field features six candidates of color.

No current or former Texas politician has announced a campaign for the 2024 presidential race.

It’s early yet, but next year’s presidential race may feature something the political world hasn't seen in the last 50 years: no elected officials from Texas.

One of the newest members of the House Intelligence Committee was herself once an officer running spies for the CIA.

Gonzales broke with his party to support sweeping gun safety legislation that passed after the city’s tragedy. He drew backlash from GOP activists again after he voted to protect same-sex marriage.

FILE - Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, speaks during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hurd, the Texas Republican who at times openly criticized Trump, has a book deal. Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that his book, currently untitled, was expected to come out in 2022. (Andrew Harrer/Pool Photo via AP, File)NEW YORK – Former Rep. Will Hurd, the Texas Republican who at times openly criticized President Donald Trump, has a book deal. Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that his book, currently untitled, was expected to come out in 2022.

“I’ve been in embassies that have been blown up, that (people) tried to overrun, and this is stuff you see over there. Washington, D.C., Police Chief Robert Contee said one woman was shot and killed by Capitol police. This is an attack on our democracy and domestic terrorism to try to stop certifying elections. ‘”And I think it’s outrageous.”Rodriguez’s concern is how this breach of security will impact the public’s ability in the future to have face-to-face access to lawmakers in the Capitol. Related: Trump tells supporters to ‘go home in peace’ in video from White House following chaos at US Capitol

SAN ANTONIO – Texas lawmakers are having to shelter in place at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday as some Pro-Trump protestors invaded the Capitol building. Several lawmakers turned to social media to condemn the actions and to update people on their status. I am currently safe, but the Capitol has been breached and some colleagues are trapped there. God bless the Capitol Police and the honorable men & women of law enforcement who show great courage keeping all of us safe. — Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) January 6, 2021See a list of the latest tweets from Texans in Congress below:

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)WASHINGTON – Key Republican lawmakers, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, on Friday slammed President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election. But some GOP leaders struck a more neutral tone — and others urged the White House to fight. But Trump “is wrong to say the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen,″ Romney said on Twitter. Before Trump's speech in the White House briefing room, several Republicans challenged his attempts to halt vote-counting in Pennsylvania and other battleground states. "It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their jobs, and that we ensure all lawfully cast ballots are allowed and counted,'' she said in a statement.

SAN ANTONIO - – It took until the wee hours of the morning Wednesday for Republican Tony Gonzales to be declared the winner in the U.S. Rep. District 23 race. Gonzales beat Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones to succeed Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican, who decided not to seek re-election. “District 23 is as tough as it gets, and we performed really well last night. U.S. Rep., District 23 View All CandidatesGonzales received 51% of the vote to 46% for Ortiz Jones. Though Gonzales will soon head to Washington D.C., he promised not to lose touch with the people of District 23.

According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which recruits and supports LGBTQ candidates, that leaves only Alaska, Louisiana and Mississippi as states that have never elected an LGBTQ legislator. With the addition of Jones and Torres, there will be nine openly LGBTQ members of the House as of January. Two other Democrats became the first openly transgender people to win seats in their states’ Houses: Taylor Small in Vermont and Stephanie Byers in Kansas. And in New York, Jabari Brisport, a gay math teacher, became the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the legislature. And in southwestern Michigan’s 6th District, Jon Hoadley, seeking to become the state’s first openly gay congressman, lost to 17-term GOP Rep. Fred Upton.

Republican Tony Gonzales wins election to U.S. House in Texas' 23rd Congressional District2:40 a.m. — Republican Tony Gonzales wins election to U.S. House in Texas' 23rd Congressional District, AP reports. Hurd had endorsed Republican Tony Gonzales, whose victory Tuesday night dealt Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones a second defeat in as many years. With 68.6% of precincts reporting, Tony Gonzales is up by five percentage points with 51% of the vote. 8:28 p.m. — In what is expected to be a close race all night, Republican Tony Gonzales is currently leading in Congressional District 23. Texas' Congressional District 23 (KSAT/Brittney Daniels)Both candidates have served their countries.

The Texas congressional battlefield has grown dramatically this election cycle, but one thing has not really changed: The 23rd District remains an all-out brawl until the end. “But as the cycle has evolved, I think it’s clear this district is set to host yet another close race. “I think in May, June, [Democrats] did think this race would be over by now, and it’s clearly not. For starters, it was the only Texas congressional district actually drawn to be competitive at the start of the decade. “I think [Hurd] could’ve held on to it if he would’ve wanted to, but I think Tony’s a good choice,” said Crane County Sheriff Andrew Aguilar.

Follow along with our live coverage of the debate between Republican Tony Gonzales and Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones from the heart of Congressional District 23, at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde. Read more about the race:The hour-long debate will air live on KSAT, KSAT.com and all of KSAT’s free streaming platforms starting at 7 p.m. Southwest Texas Junior College and Sul Ross State University are the hosts, and KSAT’s Steve Spriester will be the moderator. We want our viewers to weigh in on the issues they want to hear about from the candidates. In a race where the margin is usually razor-thin, debates can make the difference. And, for more election news and key races, visit KSAT’s Vote 2020 page or sign up for our free election newsletter.

Texas Republican Will Hurd has held the Congressional District 23 seat since 2014, but that doesn’t mean the seat will be reliably red this November as he departs from office. Jones won 48.73% of the vote, while Hurd won 49.17%, a difference of 0.44% or 926 votes. After the narrow win, Hurd quickly decided against seeking reelection, leaving Senator Tim Scott as the only Black Republican in Congress. Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones and Republican Tony Gonzales are candidates for Texas' Congressional District 23. While Jones has the fundraising advantage on Gonzales, Gonzales carries the endorsements of Trump and Hurd.

Editor’s note: Find live coverage of the debate here. KSAT is hosting a debate from the heart of CD-23, at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde. We want our viewers to weigh in on the issues they want to hear about from the candidates. Submit questions that you’d like to hear the candidates answer in the prompt below. And, for more election news and key races, visit KSAT’s Vote 2020 page or sign up for our free election newsletter.

The all-Republican court rejected a Republican effort to erase 44 Libertarian candidates from the ballot. The theory operating here is that Libertarian candidates siphon more votes from Republicans than from Democrats. A related bit of political folklore is that Green Party candidates take votes that would otherwise go to Democrats. State Rep. Gina Calanni, a Democrat, beat a Republican incumbent by 113 votes in a 2018 race in which a Libertarian got 1,106 votes. For instance, state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, won reelection by 1,428 votes; the Libertarian in his race got 1,644 votes.

The recount of the Republican primary runoff for the national battleground seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, has reached an end, and Tony Gonzales remains the winner. Raul Reyes, who had finished 45 votes behind Gonzales in the July 14 runoff, announced Friday evening that he was abandoning the recount. Gonzales is now set to be the undisputed nominee for the seat, one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities across the country. Coming out of election night, Reyes was down by just seven votes, a deficit that grew to 45 as the final ballots came in and the results were canvassed. In the weeks since the runoff, Gonzales repeatedly claimed victory and criticized Reyes’ recount effort as a hopeless pursuit, saying it was taking away from the party’s ability to unify against Jones.

Raul Reyes, left, and Tony Gonzales are running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd. Raul Reyes announced Friday night that he will seek a recount in the razor-thin Republican primary runoff to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, in his national battleground district. Reyes' announcement came after the Texas GOP certified the results of his July 14 runoff against Tony Gonzales. The campaigns said the final margin was Gonzales by 45 votes, though the party had not confirmed that as of late Friday night. But Reyes held firm against conceding and began fundraising for a potential recount while waiting for the state party canvass.

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County voters joined the rest of Texas Tuesday in deciding the final nominees for the general election in November. With more than a dozen races on GOP and Democratic ballots, we’ve rounded up the biggest takeaways below, in case you missed it. RELATED: ‘Outstanding’ voter turnout reported in Bexar County for runoff electionBexar County Commissioner, Constable shake-upPrecinct 1 Commissioner Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez lost his seat on Tuesday night after being trounced by about 20 percentage points by challenger Rebeca “Becky” Clay-Flores in the Democratic runoff. She’ll face Republican Gabriel Lara in the general election. Voters gave Bexar County GOP Chair Cynthia Brehm an emphatic boot on Tuesday night, weeks after she refused calls to resign from top Texas Republicans, including U.S.

From left, Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes are running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat that is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas. Texas TribunePresident Donald Trump's choice to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, was in a too-close-to-call runoff Tuesday night against a candidate endorsed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The Trump-backed Tony Gonzales was trailing Cruz's pick, Raul Reyes, by just 11 votes out of 24,533 with all polling locations reporting, according to unofficial results. Gonzales, a former Navy cryptologist backed by Hurd and House leaders, nabbed Trump's endorsement earlier this month, just three days after Cruz endorsed Reyes. Trump had endorsed another candidate in the Texas runoffs, Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon.

But in an interview after Trump's endorsement, Gonzales maintained he is still the strongest candidate to do that, and the president's backing only reinforces it. A day later, Cruz made the Reyes endorsement official, saying the district "deserves strong conservative representation." Cruz's Reyes endorsement was not entirely a mystery, though. An already nasty runoffThings were already bitter — and personal — between the runoff candidates before Cruz and Trump got involved. “I’ll face off against a Trump puppet who will support the Trump administration’s extreme agenda regardless of how much it harms Texas families.”

Tony Gonzales announces in San Antonio that he is running for the Texas Congressional District 23 seat being vacated by Will Hurd. Robin Jerstad for The Texas TribunePresident Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Tony Gonzales in the Republican primary runoff to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, three days after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz shook up the race by backing Gonzales' opponent, Raul Reyes. Cruz endorsed Reyes on Tuesday and launched a TV ad buy for him through his leadership PAC. While the Trump endorsement gives Gonzales a big boost in the primary runoff, it is likely less helpful for the general election. Trump lost the perennial battleground district by 4 percentage points in 2016, while Hurd carried it by 1.

SAN ANTONIO – Update:Joint Base San Antonio will hold a town hall forum Wednesday, Feb. 5 for JBSA personnel and families regarding the quarantine zone for those who may be infected with coronavirus. Joint Base San Antonio also setup a website that has information on the virus and the town hall forum. JBSA personnel and their families are invited to the town hall to address any questions or concerns they may have regarding the quarantine zone. We should all be comforted by the extra precautions being taken by federal, state and local health officials," said Nirenberg. San Antonio health officials continue to monitor coronavirus outbreakWe’ll bring more details as they become available.

SAN ANTONIO – The Department of Veterans Affairs paid tribute Monday for the service and sacrifice of veterans at a Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. The ceremony included remarks by Dr. Kat Strauss, Air Force, LTC (Ret.). Elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, attended the event. The master of ceremony was Tom Earnest. The Texas Children’s Choir, the MacArthur High School AJROTC and the Beethoven Band performed at the ceremony.

SAN ANTONIO – An additional 100 immigration judges are in the works to help 424 judges already facing a staggering backlog of more than 892,000 cases, according to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan resource for federal enforcement, staffing and spending. Now it's up to the Department of Justice to identify these judges and hire them," Hurd said. AdThe funding is pending approval of the 2020 budget by Congress, a Department of Justice spokesman said. "The amount of immigration judges relative to the increase in incoming cases has caused extensive periods (of delay)," Cuellar said in a news release. Ramey said 100 more judges would help significantly.

Copyright 2018 by KSAT - All rights reserved. Jones will take on GOP incumbent Rep. Will Hurd in November. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241.