GOP Hopes Of Retaking The House Are Fading Fast As Another Republican Announces Retirement

GOP congressman Will Hurd of Texas – the only African-American Republican in the House of Representatives – announced on Thursday that he will not be seeking reelection in 2020.

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According to The Washington Post, “Hurd’s retirement is the third by a Texas Republican in the past week and the ninth by a party incumbent, dealing a blow to GOP efforts to regain control of the House in next year’s election.”

Rep. Hurd made it clear that Trump’s recent racist attacks on minority congresswomen and inner cities were indefensible:

In an interview Thursday with The Post, Hurd criticized Trump’s racist tweets last month in which the president said four Democratic minority congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Three of the women are from the United States; a fourth, Rep. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), is a Somali refu­gee who became a U.S. citizen as a teenager.

“When you imply that because someone doesn’t look like you, in telling them to go back to Africa or wherever, you’re implying that they’re not an American and you’re implying that they have less worth than you,” Hurd said.

While it’s nice to hear a Republican lawmaker – even if he is retiring – stand up to Trump, Rep. Hurd is not exactly a profile in courage. Stunningly, he told the newspaper he will still be supporting Trump in 2020.

According to The Post, Hurd said, “Hispanics, African Americans and other groups would be receptive to conservative themes if they weren’t drowned in racially charged rhetoric.”

In other words, if you just cut past the bigotry, Trump isn’t so bad.

Hurd’s seat is a prime target for Democrats in 2020

Democrats already have control of the House, but Rep. Hurd’s seat will be a prime target as the party looks to maintain or expand their control of the chamber. After all, he is just one of three Republicans representing a district that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

As conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin said on Twitter on Thursday, the GOP-controlled seat is likely a “goner” for the Republicans in 2020.

With Donald Trump becoming increasingly unhinged and unfiltered in the run up to 2020, Republican lawmakers are jumping ship. It doesn’t bode well for the GOP’s chances of winning back the House.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.