The Strangest Candidacy

Why on earth is Will Hurd running for president?

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Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd speaks to guests at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off on April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

As a pundit by trade, I like to think that I can hot-take my way to a plausible-ish explanation of any political development, no matter how nonsensical that development might be.

The Trump era has tested my confidence many times, most recently when you-know-who chose to go on Fox News and basically confess to the elements of the federal crimes he’s been charged with. Reason is unequal to the task of analyzing why things happen in an age of unreason. But that’s what separates the pundit men from the pundit boys: If you can squeeze 2,000 more or less rational words out of what’s plainly irrational, there’s a job for you in this industry.

On most days I can do it, albeit in Trump’s case often with help from the DSM-IV. With news breaking this morning that former Rep. Will Hurd has entered the Republican presidential primary, today is not one of those days.

I’ve got nothing. And I’m going to write an entire column describing just how much nothing I’ve got.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Gbr0wn

    Here's a possibility: he's running for a 'No Labels' 3rd party spot - or even, as a 3rd party is looking more likely, maybe even a 4th centrist party

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  2. DavidWG

    Hurd is brainy, idealistic, young, sympathetic and focused, so there's zero possibility he could ever be president. Biden and Trump—now there's Presidential timber.

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  3. ClassicalLiberal

    I think you're over-analyzing. Everybody's theory of everything is based on what is most familiar to them: athletes see the world as one large ballgame, engineers see the world as an engineering problem, salesmen see the world as one big negotiation, Doug Burgum sees the world as one big North Dakota, politicians see the world as a steaming pile of bull---- and so forth.

    Will Hurd probably sees the United States as kind of like the district he represented in Congress, and because the district was competitive his victories were narrow, he could not win that district by sounding like a Looney Toon. If you have some ideas, then maybe people who don't agree with you 100% might even vote for you: "well, at least he has integrity." Unfortunately that's not how primaries or national politics work, so his candidacy seems Quixotic to us.

    What we need is more competitive House districts, where the politicians' concern is not to sound too crazy, or he or she will get tossed out of office. Personally, I'm with Jonah Goldberg on this one: we need a House of Representatives with about 4000 members representing constituencies of about 70,000. Those are a hell of a lot harder to Gerrymander, and with smaller constituencies it becomes possible for someone to actually win a seat on a shoestring.

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    Trapkoch

    Perhaps he's angling for a cabinet slot. DNI, maybe? A centrist voice for DHS?

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    Paul Montagu

    I'm for Hurd. But then, I'm also with other low-percenters like Christie and Hutchinson, and I'll hold my nose for the rest, as long as the nominee ain't Trump.

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    1. Richard Kropas

      I am with you so at least there are 2 of us. I could even live with Doug Burgum

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    Greg Williams

    Maybe Hurd is running because he cares enough about his principles to make his voice heard even if there is little chance of being rewarded for his efforts. This business of pundits needing to put all candidates in a "lane" has become tiresome. There are republicans that don't want a candidate that is good at "throwing roundhouses" but long for someone who actually sounds like they have solutions and are capable of doing the job. People like Hurd are needed to plant the seeds of republican recovery. We are in a drought of principled leadership, and droughts often lead to fire. But the rain always comes sooner or later, and the seeds of renewal always survive and sprout after the fire is over.

    https://christiansoldier21.substack.com/

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  7. Srhritz

    I think he's running to advance his pet issues - "China, job disruption driven by AI, even quantum computing and biohacking". In my opinion, these issues need a platform and the Congressman is trying to provide one.

    Either that or he believes his own BS and thinks he can win.

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    Bill Dyer (aka Beldar)

    To your repeated question: "On what planet does [Tim Hurd] stand a chance of leading Donald Trump’s party?"

    I object to the form of the question, because it assumes facts not in evidence.

    He's not the POTUS. He's not the nominee. He's not yet even the delegate leader in the race for nominees, because this is 2023, and — Mr. Catoggio, you should know this! — the primaries don't start until next year.

    It's just not "Donald Trump's party," Mr. Catoggio.

    You flail and name-call "Republicans!!@(#!" whenever you're frustrated, and it means something different from day to day, column to column, and it's all based on speculation and passion that literally ignores the reality of the calendar.

    BE. MORE. PRECISE. Use your words — you know lots of them, and you're capable, from time to time, of actually using something other than the broadest possible of brushes.

    And stop giving aid and comfort to Donald Trump and his supporters by accepting their increasingly questionable presumption that Trump will be the next GOP nominee. He might be, but you've been giving him all sorts of credibility that he does not deserve.

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    Seth Newell

    Sounds like the guy I want to vote for. Speaks directly to me. I want someone serious. Someone idealistic. Someone with principles. Will "McRomBush" Hurd. That's what I want and I can think of many of my peers who feel the same way.

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    Chuck

    I suspect both Hurd and Christie are in the race to criticize Trump. I think Christie is motivated by spite, and Hurd by civic duty, but there's little downside for either if they wish to continue a career in national politics. Neither will get anywhere in a Trumpist Republican party, and neither has a future as a Democrat either. Taking down Trump is their only hope for any near-term success in politics. It happens so rarely that it must be a joy for politicians when the right thing to do for their careers is also the right thing to do.

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    1. Dennis Dale Gist

      I have been trying to find a republican that doesn't embarrass me to support and Will Hurd is the first that the party HASN'T run off.

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