(RepublicanJournal.org) – With just over a year to go until the next presidential election, the focus is starting to narrow in on who the nominees will be. On the Republican side, former president Donald Trump has a massive lead over his rivals. Will that change as minor candidates start to drop out? We should find out soon because the slate of hopefuls is already getting smaller.
On October 9, Will Hurd, a former Texas representative and a candidate for next year’s Republican presidential nomination, announced he was dropping out of the race. Hurd was the last to declare his candidacy, only announcing it on June 22. Now he’s become the second to step down, following Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who pulled out in late August.
Hurd is a former CIA officer, who worked in the Directorate of Operations — the undercover branch of the agency — for nine years. He served in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan; in Pakistan, he used his fluent Urdu to operate undercover. After leaving the CIA he ran for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District twice, losing in 2010 but winning the seat in 2014. A GOP moderate and regular critic of former president Donald Trump, he didn’t seek re-election in 2020.
Hurd’s presidential campaign was based around inflation and illegal immigration, two issues he said President Biden either can’t or won’t solve. However, his message failed to cut through with grassroots Republicans; in an October 10 poll, he registered 0% support.
Apparently, he’s realized there’s no chance of him managing enough of a recovery to get anywhere, so now he’s withdrawn. Announcing the suspension of his campaign Hurd urged his supporters — if there are any — to switch their backing to former UN ambassador Nikki Hayley, who’s currently in fourth place with 6% support behind Trump (61%), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (12%), and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (9%).
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