Rep. Will Hurd is latest Texas Republican to announce retirement

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) has decided not to seek re-election, he told The Washington Post on Thursday.

Hurd, the only black Republican in the House, represents the 23rd congressional district, which goes along the Mexican border, between San Antonio and El Paso. The 41-year-old former CIA officer barely won re-election in November, and President Trump lost his district in 2016 by four percentage points. He is the third Texas Republican to announce over the last week that they will not seek re-election — Rep. Pete Olson's Houston-area seat will likely be a Democratic target in 2020, the Post said, while Rep. K. Michael Conaway's seat in Midland should remain in Republican hands.

Hurd said he does plan on running for elected office in the future, but did not say which one. "I think I can help the country in a different way," he said. "I'm interested in pursuing my lifelong passions at that intersection of technology and national security. And I think I have an opportunity to help make sure the Republican Party looks like America." Hurd has at times been a critic of Trump and his proposed border wall, and while he told the Post he does not agree with the racist comments Trump made about four Democratic congresswomen of color, he will vote for him in 2020.

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