In October, Donald Trump had nothing but positive things to say about Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado. In a post on his social media platform, the president said the incumbent congressman has been an “incredible” lawmaker with “a strong Record of SUCCESS.” Trump added: “Jeff Hurd has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Roughly four months later, the president did something he does not often do: He un-endorsed a Republican he had already backed. In a post on Saturday, Trump wrote:
Based on a lack of support, in particular for the unbelievably successful TARIFFS imposed on Foreign Countries and Companies which has made America Richer, Stronger, Bigger, and Better than ever before, I am hereby WITHDRAWING my Endorsement of RINO Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado’s 3rd District. … Congressman Hurd is one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down. He is more interested in protecting Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for decades than he is the United States of America.
As part of the same lengthy missive, the president threw his support behind Hurd’s primary rival, local nurse practitioner Hope Scheppelman.
The congressman has found himself in a difficult position. On the one hand, Hurd is a GOP incumbent in a blue state, hoping to hold on in a competitive district where the White House’s tariffs are unpopular and ineffective. It’s this pressure that pushed Hurd to break with the administration on trade policy.
On the other hand, he’s also a Republican who tends to vote with his party, hoping to survive a primary challenge.
The president, evidently, is not sympathetic as Hurd tries to thread a difficult political needle: Trump expects loyalty, especially on tariffs, regardless of the circumstances. Full stop.
It’s too soon to say with confidence what the president’s move will mean for Hurd’s career prospects, but Democrats are likely hoping that the president gets his way. The New York Times reported on the background of the candidate who now has Trump’s endorsement:
Ms. Scheppelman is regarded in the state as a polarizing figure. She was seen as acting in concert with Dave Williams, the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, when members voted in 2024 to oust both of them in response to posts by Mr. Williams that attacked the L.G.B.T.Q. community and accusations that he had fueled divisions within the party.
Dick Wadhams, a Republican strategist in Colorado and a former Republican Party chairman in the state, described Ms. Scheppelman as a ‘very divisive’ figure who was deeply invested in 2020 election conspiracies.
The Colorado district that Hurd represents leans toward the GOP, but not overwhelmingly so. And if local primary voters back Scheppelman over the incumbent, a race that Democrats are already optimistic about will become that much more appealing. Watch this space.
