Hurd, 45, was first elected to serve Texas’s 23rd Congressional District in 2014, beating a Democratic incumbent by two points.

The majority-Hispanic district stretches along the Rio Grande, west of San Antonio and east of El Paso. Hurd was reelected by narrow margins twice before joining a wave of congressional Republicans who retired before the 2020 election.

A self-described “dark horse” candidate, Hurd now enters a crowded field with 11 other Republican candidates.

Hurd said his decision to enter the race was something he and his wife decided to do after realizing “we live in complicated times.”

Hurd said issues such as education — noting low scores in math, science and reading for students — was also a factor in his decision to run.

“These are the issues we should be talking about. And to be frank, I’m pissed that we’re not talking about these things,” he said.

“I believe the Republican Party can be the party that talks about the future, not the past,” Hurd said.

Recognizing the prevailing hyper-partisanship and anger in politics, Hurd acknowledged the dominance that the former president has within the current Republican landscape. However, he said he sees the importance of the Republican party not succumbing to fear of Trump’s influence.

“You can’t be afraid of Donald Trump. Too many candidates in this race are afraid of Donald Trump, but we also have to articulate a different vision,” Hurd said. Looking ahead to the upcoming presidential election, Hurd described previously as a “rematch from hell” between former President Donald Trump and President Biden. He stressed the significance of issues like immigration and the need to tackle them for the betterment of the nation.

As a former CIA officer, Hurd said that Trump’s indictment consisting of 37 felony charges related to his handling of classified documents after he left the White House is “frustrating,” and that “nobody’s above the law, and you are innocent until proven guilty.”

The fact that Donald Trump willingly kept that material and he wants to be the leader of the free world is unacceptable to me,” Hurd said.

Since he left Congress, Hurd has worked in the private sector as an investment banker and consultant in cybersecurity and foreign affairs.

Before his career in politics, he spent nearly a decade as an undercover CIA officer working in counterterrorism.

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