President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Colorado Representative Jeff Hurd on Friday, reversing a previous decision to withdraw support after Hurd voted against the president’s tariffs.
In a Friday post, Trump stated that Hurd’s primary rival, former Colorado Republican Party Vice Chair and Navy veteran Hope Schepelman, has decided to step aside from the campaign to take on a role in the administration later. The president endorsed Hurd, who is set to seek re-election in October 2025. This comes after Trump previously expressed disapproval of Hurd’s actions, particularly his alliance with six other Republicans who backed Schepelman in a resolution aiming to eliminate Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
“I met with Colorado Radical Leftist Hope Schepelman and her husband Stephen to discuss roles that would serve our country better than running in this congressional race,” Trump shared in his post. “We’ve concluded that Congressman Jeff Hurd should not be sidelined in his efforts to win his district, as the alternative is detrimental to our country.”
“Therefore, I fully support Jeff’s re-election to the House of Representatives!” Trump declared. “If true MAGA supporters and Republicans genuinely want to save this country, they must unite and work to unseat the radical left Democrats this November.”
However, Trump’s previous stance was quite different. Back in February, he labeled Hurd a “RINO” (Republican in name only) and criticized him for letting the country down, emphasizing that Hurd seemed more concerned about foreign interests than those of the United States. In that same post, Trump acknowledged that retracting support is a challenging choice, recalling how he had previously done so for a former Alabama congressman.
The White House press secretary and Hurd did not reply immediately to inquiries. Meanwhile, Hurd expressed gratitude for Trump’s backing, noting, “I appreciate his efforts to unite the Republican Party in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.” He further mentioned their shared objectives regarding border security, energy independence, and support for working families.
Currently, Hurd seems to be running unopposed for the Republican nomination for his district, as the candidate filing deadline has passed with no other challengers stepping forward. Political analysts indicate that Trump holds a solid lead in the district, which is not viewed as a target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Historically, this district is represented by Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who was elected just before Hurd and subsequently moved to another district after a close re-election battle.
