Will Hurd

Will Hurd
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 23rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded by Pete Gallego
Personal details
Born August 19, 1977
San Antonio, Texas
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Residence Helotes, Texas
Alma mater Texas A&M University, (B.S.) (2000)
Religion Southern Baptist[1]

William Ballard "Will" Hurd (born August 19, 1977) is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district, a district which stretches 800 miles, from San Antonio to El Paso, along the U.S.-Mexican border.[2] He took office on January 3, 2015. Hurd is the first black Republican elected to Congress from Texas.[3][2]

Early years

Hurd is the son of Robert and Mary Alice Hurd of San Antonio. He is a graduate of John Marshall High School in the San Antonio suburb of Leon Valley, Texas.[4] After high school Hurd attended Texas A&M and served as the Student Body President in 1999 at the time of Aggie Bonfire collapse.[1] He graduated from A&M in 2000 with a degree in computer science, a minor in international relations.[1]

Hurd worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for nine years, stationed in Washington, D.C., including a tour of duty as an operations officer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.[4][1] He speaks Urdu,[5] the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where Hurd worked undercover.[5]

One of his roles at the CIA was briefing members of Congress, many of whom could not distinguish the Sunni and Shia divide at the center of Islamic civil wars for centuries.[6] This lack of understanding by members of Congress made Hurd want to pursue politics.[6]

He returned to Texas after his CIA service and worked for Crumpton Group, strategic advisory firm, as a partner and a senior adviser with the cybersecurity firm FusionX.[1] He currently lives in Helotes, a suburb of San Antonio.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Hurd announced his candidacy on November 19, 2009 for the Republican nomination in Texas's 23rd congressional district, a district which is two-thirds Hispanic.[5][7][8] His electronically filed campaign finance records indicated that he had $70,000 on hand to fund his attempt.[9]

On February 15, 2010, Hurd received the endorsement of the San Antonio Express-News.[10] In the primary election on March 2, 2010, he the received the greatest number of votes but failed to received a majority of the votes cast, resulting in a run-off election on April 13, 2010.[11][12] He faced second-place finisher Francisco "Quico" Canseco, a San Antonio banker making his third attempt at a Congressional seat.[11] Hurd lost to Canseco in the runoff 53%-47%. Canseco ultimately won the general election but lost in 2012.

2014

Hurd once again ran for the 23rd district in the United States House of Representatives elections, 2014. He defeated former U.S. Representative Quico Canseco, who had lost re-election in 2012, and defeated incumbent Democrat Pete Gallego by 2,500 votes.[1] He was endorsed by the San Antonio Express-News.[1]

He did a post-election swing through some parts of his district that had heavily favored the incumbent Gallego in the voting.[13]

Tenure

As with the other Congressional freshmen, Hurd's term officially began on January 3, 2015 and was sworn in on January 6. As of 2015 Hurd is the only former CIA case officer who has actively served during the War on Terrorism, to be in Congress.[6]

Committee assignments

In his first term in Congress, Hurd was made the Chairman of the Information Technology Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (which focuses in part on cybersecurity), which is unusual for a first-term member of Congress.[5][14]

He is vice-chair of the Border and Maritime Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee.[15]

Political positions

Hurd is pro-life.[16]

He supports stronger border security and opposes granting citizenship to illegal aliens.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Texas-23: Will Hurd (R), National Journal
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Recio, Maria (November 6, 2014) - "Texas Sending First Black Republican to Congress". Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Hansi Lo Wang (November 8, 2014). "As GOP Swept Congress, Black Republicans Took Home Historic Wins". NPR. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Garcia, Gilbert (March 3, 2010). "Rodriguez rolls in District 23". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Weissert, Will (March 7, 2015). "Texas black GOP congressman relishes being political outlier". Conroe Courier (Conroe, Texas). Retrieved March 8, 2015. The 37-year-old worked for the CIA for almost a decade, much of it undercover in Pakistan, where he mastered the national tongue.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Kane, Paul (March 5, 2015). "Texan Will Hurd defies the odds for House Republicans. Can he last?". The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.). Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ "BurkaBlog". Texas Monthly. December 3, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ Giroux, Greg (November 19, 2009). "Texas: Will Republican Ride Hurd on Rodriguez?". Roll Call. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ Smith, Morgan (February 16, 2010). "Primary Color: CD-23". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Our recommendations for primary elections". San Antonio Express-News. February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Martin, Gary; Pack, William (March 3, 2010). "Congressional candidates in GOP runoffs". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Election Night Returns". 2010 Republican Party Primary Election. Office of the Secretary of State of Texas. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ U.S. rep-elect comes through town The Fort Stockton Pioneer December 11, 2015
  14. ↑ Marks, Michael (January 7, 2015) - "Freshman Texans to Lead High-Tech Subcommittees". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ King, Tura (February 24, 2015). "Cong. Will Hurd To Speak at Campus Muster". Texas A&M Today (College Station, Texas). Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  16. ↑ Life Site News, Nov. 5, 2014

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Pete Gallego		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 23rd congressional district
2015–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
French Hill
R-Arkansas		 United States Representatives by seniority
402nd 		Succeeded by
Evan Jenkins
R-West Virginia