Crowded and underfunded, the GOP field has tossed out Will Hurd’s playbook in favor of Trump’s… Hurd’s endorsed candidate says he’s gunning for a Trump endorsement himself!
Five months and eight days after Congressman Will Hurd’s shocking retirement announcement, the fate of Texas’ 23rd Congressional District looks worse for Republicans than ever before.
A new Texas Tribune report underscores a key point we mentioned in a December memo: On the ground in TX-23, Will Hurd’s endorsement just ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Hurd’s moderate rhetoric and occasional swipes at President Trump have made his brand toxic in large swaths of the district, something that Tony Gonzales – Hurd’s own endorsed candidate – admitted when pressed in conservative Del Rio, Texas:
“Pressed on the political impact of Hurd’s endorsement, Gonzales acknowledged there are parts of the district where people ‘sing [Hurd’s] praises’ and others, particularly west of San Antonio, where ‘the less you can say Will Hurd’s name.’”
The Tribune also reports that Gonzales is actively seeking an endorsement from President Trump – a curious thing to admit in a district that supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is poised to reject the president once again in November.