BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Will Hurd
| Will Hurd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 23rd district | |
| 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 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]
In July 2015 Hurd was named to replace Aaron Schock as a Co-Chair of the Congressional Future Caucus with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.[14]
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][15]
Political positions
Hurd is pro-life.[17]
He supports stronger border security and opposes granting citizenship to illegal aliens.[18]
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