Will Hurd: An Appreciation
For some time now, I have written about the primary elections in the US
There are plenty of places to read serious political discussion but that’s not what I do.
I don’t love politics, but what I do love is those early days of an election where every is patriotic, everyone is hopeful and the problems of the world look solvable.
It is those times where even the most obscurest of politicians feel the call to help their country.
You can blame Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Pete Buttigieg among others who actually went from obscurity to national headlines.
But, those are the exceptions. Only a real election historian is likely to remember Wayne Messam, Rubin Askew, Alan Cranston, Gary Bauer, Fred Karger, Carol Mosley Braun, and Arlen Specter to name a few.
For the 2024 cycle, I haven’t been able to be timely- so I have been cherry picking the most interesting things to write about.
It is for that reason, that I haven’t gotten around to writing about Will Hurd.
Hurd was the last major candidate to join the race, yet always seemed to be an even more obscure candidate than those who started obscure but gathered some steam like Vivek Ramaswamy, Perry Johnson, Ryan Binkley, and Larry Elder.
So perhaps no surprise, the former three time representative from Texas and clandestine CIA agent dropped out last week.
Hurd’s candidacy was a throwback to the typical pro business, pro national security bipartisan Republican candidate of days of yore.
He consistently has been a critic of Donald Trump- advocating for him to drop out in 2016 when the Access Hollywood interview came to light.
Hurd’s run was short with one headline but that one was a doozy- going to the front page of The Des Moines Register
At the Lincoln Day Dinner in late July- a major event with a dozen candidates - the AP reported:
“Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison,” Hurd declared at a July GOP dinner in Iowa. When sustained booing followed, he responded, “Listen, I know the truth is hard.
In a seemingly rare case where Trump shared the room with all of his rivals. Hurd was the only one to get any attention besides Trump.
From the AP's coverage of the event:
The former president frequently avoids attending multicandidate events in person, questioning why he would share a stage with competitors who are badly trailing him in polls. Still, with Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus less than six months away, Trump joined a dozen other GOP hopefuls in speaking to about 1,200 GOP members and activists at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
“If I weren’t running, I would have nobody coming after me,” Trump said in his only veiled reference to his legal issues. He also insisted the same would be true if he were trailing in the polls.
While DeSantis didn’t mention the former president by name, meanwhile, Trump didn’t return the favor. He told the crowd, “I wouldn’t take a chance on that one,” and repeatedly branded him “DeSanctus.”
Trump was even blunter before the dinner as he opened a campaign office in Urbandale, outside Des Moines.
“I understand the other candidates are falling very flat ... it’s like death,” Trump said.
More than 100 people packed the small office, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and shirts. They had waited in 100-degree weather to enter, and the poorly ventilated office quickly became sweltering. Staff handed out water bottles, and people fanned themselves with campaign handouts. Some used paper towels to wipe away sweat.
Similar strong support for the former president was evident during the dinner, when many attendees wore “Trump Country” stickers, including 72-year-old Diane Weaver of Ankeny, Iowa.
“I think he makes America great,” said Weaver, a retiree who plans to caucus for Trump. “I think he did it once and I think he can do it again.”
West Des Moines resident Jane Schrader chose to wear her “Trump Country” sticker on her pants instead of at eye level. “I’m not quite dyed-in-the-wool. I’m a supporter, but not that kind,” said the retired physician, explaining her sticker placement.
Like all major candidates, Hurd traveled to the Iowa State Fair to speak at the soap box.
Hurd said Republican crowds had treated him well despite his rough night in July.
Hurd said one thing that has always struck me about Trump - everyone has surely made their mind up on him. There’s no undecided possible Trump voters. Radio Iowa reported
“Who is that independent or Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 who is now going to change their vote and vote for Donald Trump if Trump is the nominee for the Republican Party?” Hurd asked.
Anyway, I am getting serious so let’s note a couple of things Iowa Capital Dispatch noted on his State Fair visit:
Hurd put in a good word for Iowa State Fair staple (and everyone’s favorite) Barksdales Chocolate Chip Cookies) in both his Soapbox speech and his Fair Side Chat with Gov. Kim Reynolds.
When asked by the Iowa Governor on what was the funniest moment on the trial. He said talking to a photographer in New Hampshire who was able to confirm the “China Sun Bear” meme was a real animal and not a human in a costume. (It was August 2023. I guess you’d have to have been there)
When asked his favorite walk out song - he said Jerry Reed’s “East Bound and Down” and Robert Earl Keen’s “I Gotta Go”
Hurd, in dropping out, says he has no regrets and is endorsing Nikki Haley, or as Donald Trump said on Truth Social- he drew flies and endorsed Birdbrain
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