Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd jumps into the 2024 GOP presidential race

Will Hurd, a retired CIA serviceman and erstwhile Texas congressman, announced Thursday that is joining the contention for the Republican statesmanlike nomination, launching a long-shot bid arsenic a mean alternate to GOP hard-liners.

Hurd, who made the announcement connected "CBS Mornings," has billed himself arsenic a "common-sense Republican" susceptible of winning implicit plaything voters who person strayed from the enactment in recent elections.

But helium faces agelong odds in a growing primary field inactive dominated by erstwhile President Donald Trump, analysts say. Recent polls show Trump with a commanding pb implicit different statesmanlike hopefuls.

J. Miles Coleman of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics said Hurd's bipartisan grounds is apt to wounded him successful the Republican primary.

"He'd beryllium a precise formidable wide predetermination candidate," Coleman said, "which is portion of the crushed wherefore I fishy he's going to person a hard clip getting the nomination."

Hurd was archetypal elected to the House of Representatives successful 2014, erstwhile helium unseated the incumbent Democrat to go the typical of a ample swath of the southwestern Texas border. He rapidly established himself arsenic a mean successful the party, though helium aligned himself with the much blimpish helping successful his criticisms of the FBI's handling of an probe into classified accusation Hillary Clinton had sent implicit a backstage email server erstwhile she was the caput of state.

After narrowly winning re-election successful 2018, Hurd announced helium would retire from Congress up of the 2020 election. He was the lone Black Republican in the House erstwhile helium retired.

In caller weeks, his run has taken shape. He recently visited New Hampshire to conscionable with voters and has lodged attacks against the Republican front-runners. In a mid-May quality on NBC's "Meet the Press," he blamed Trump for Republican losses successful the 2022 midterm elections and charged the erstwhile president with "looking backwards" alternatively of "to the future."

Hurd called a 2024 conflict betwixt Trump and President Joe Biden the "rematch from hell," claiming that a majority of Americans would similar different candidates.

"Whether you're successful ruby-red towns oregon deep-blue cities, radical attraction astir putting nutrient connected the table, a extortion implicit their head, and making definite the radical they emotion are healthy, blessed and safe," helium said.

Hurd has formed himself arsenic a mean Republican who tin entreaty to voters crossed the governmental spectrum. He precocious authored an article calling himself a "firearm-owning Republican" and advocating for caller weapon laws. He has emphasized aiding Ukraine successful defending itself against Russian forces and addressing the emergence of artificial quality and its nationalist information implications. He is connected the committee of directors of OpenAI, the startup that created ChatGPT.

The erstwhile typical of a borderline district, Hurd has besides made migration a focal constituent of his nascent campaign. In a caller quality on CNN, helium called for a semipermanent program to streamline ineligible immigration, summation deportations of radical who travel to the state illegally, and supply economical assistance to Latin America to discourage radical from leaving their countries.

"The situation that we're dealing with present began nether Donald Trump," helium said. "It's gotten importantly worse nether the Biden administration."

Matt Terrill, managing spouse astatine Firehouse Strategies — a nationalist affairs steadfast founded by Republican strategists — said that adjacent long-shot candidates person a accidental if they tin summation momentum successful states specified arsenic Iowa, New Hampshire oregon South Carolina, which person aboriginal caucuses oregon primaries.

"It's the voters successful these aboriginal superior states, the delegates, they're going to beryllium the ones who yet determine this nomination," helium said. Candidates mightiness beryllium capable to triumph implicit these voters by demonstrating however they tin pull plaything voters successful a wide election.

"Republican voters privation to win," Terrill said.