Will Hurd says he wants to stop Trump, but he’s making himself an accomplice instead | Opinion
Will Hurd, the former congressman who announced Thursday that he’ll run for the Republican presidential nomination, is an accomplished, smart Texan. He probably understands that he has little chance of winning the presidency.
But what he doesn’t seem to grasp is that his candidacy will help the man he says he’s trying to beat: Donald Trump.
Hurd becomes the 12th major GOP candidate, including Trump. Stopping the former president will require uniting opposition to him and peeling off supporters who still admire him but fear he cannot beat Joe Biden. If the opposition is sufficiently diluted, no contender will be positioned to beat Trump head on.
It’s exactly what happened in 2016. Candidates hung back, fighting one another but avoiding or even admiring Trump. Each hoped to be the last one standing, to unite opposition to Trump. He took early primaries, even though a majority of the party voted for others. Soon enough, the chance to stop him was lost.
Those candidates, at least, could be excused for thinking there’s no way Republicans would nominate an ill-mannered twice-divorced reality TV host. This year’s field obviously should know better.
Hurd, to his credit, goes directly at the problem. In his announcement video, he takes it to the former president in a way that few of his new rivals have been willing to.
“If we nominate a lawless, selfish, failed politician like Donald Trump, who lost the House, the Senate and the White House, we all know Joe Biden will win again,” Hurd said.
A candidate actually arguing against the guy he needs to beat? How novel! Someone tell folks like Tim Scott and Nikki Haley that, yes, it can be done.
In a normal world, Hurd’s smarts and skills would get some attention. He’s had some interesting critiques of his own party on race and inclusiveness. The former CIA officer understands the hotspots in the world and America’s vital role in it. He won a tough swing district — the huge, sparsely populated stretch between El Paso and San Antonio — without sacrificing his conservative bona fides. He’s even friends with the great Robert Earl Keen.
And hey, we’ve had a Texan in the GOP presidential field almost every cycle for a half-century. It’s good to remind the rest of the country who’s boss.
But what niche or appetite does Hurd fill in a field with a former vice president, current and former governors, a sitting senator and more?
Hurd declined to run for a fourth term in 2020, probably knowing that Trump’s presence on the ballot would drag him to a loss. In the modern era, no former House members have won the White House without a stop somewhere in between. That includes Texan George H.W. Bush, whose two terms as vice president overshadowed his brief tenure in Congress.
Many recent presidential campaigns amount to little more than a marketing gimmick, an attempt to build visibility for a future political run or build a media profile. Hurd deserves more credit than that. In a normal time, his candidacy would be harmless at worst.
In 2024, Trump’s resilience with GOP voters makes beating him every bit as difficult as it is necessary. Spreading the anti-Trump vote even a little bit thinner just helps the man Hurd vows he’s trying to stop.
This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 11:28 AM.
