President Donald Trump has reinstated his endorsement of Republican Rep.
Jeff Hurd of Colorados 3rd Congressional District, reversing a high-profile break that followed Hurds opposition to the former presidents tariff agenda.
According to WND, Trump announced the renewed backing in a Friday post on Truth Social, less than a month after abruptly pulling his support over Hurds vote to repeal Trump-era tariffs. The move effectively clears the Republican primary field after Hurds challenger, former Colorado GOP vice chair and Navy veteran Hope Scheppelman, agreed to exit the race in exchange for a role in a future Trump administration in a capacity to be determined.
Trump explained that he had personally met with Scheppelman and her husband to chart a new path for her political future while preserving Republican unity in a key Western district. I met with Hope Scheppelman and her husband Steven, of the Radical Left State of Colorado, to discuss various opportunities to serve our Country in a different capacity than her current run for the United States Congress, Trump wrote in his Friday post.
The former president made clear that his priority is keeping the seat in Republican hands, framing the Democratic alternative as unacceptable for conservatives and the country at large. Together with them, we decided that Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorados 3rd Congressional District, should in no way, shape, or form, be impeded from winning the District in that the Democrat alternative is a DISASTER for our Country.
Recasting himself as the unifier of the party after a brief intramural fight, Trump pledged to go all in for Hurds reelection effort. Therefore, I will be fully supporting Jeffs Re-Election to the House of Representatives, giving him my Complete and Total Endorsement! he declared, urging the base to close ranks, adding, Every true MAGA supporter and Republican, if they truly care about saving our Country, will do everything in their power to unify together, and defeat the Crazed Radical Left Democrats this November.
The about-face stands in sharp contrast to Trumps rhetoric in February, when he publicly broke with Hurd over the tariff vote and branded him a RINO. At that time, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was WITHDRAWING his endorsement of RINO [Republican in name only] Congressman Jeff Hurd and was fully Endorsing Highly Respected Patriot, Hope Scheppelman, to take his place in Congress.
Trumps February post accused Hurd of siding with foreign interests over American workers and industries, a cardinal sin in the former presidents economic nationalist framework. 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, Trump wrote, defending his unbelievably successful tariffs that made America Richer, Stronger, Bigger, and Better than ever before.
The former president also underscored how rare it is for him to rescind an endorsement, invoking his past break with Alabama Republican Mo Brooks as a cautionary tale. Taking back an Endorsement is a difficult decision for me. I have only done it once before, with a former Congressman named Mo Brooks, from Alabama, who was leading by 54 points after my Endorsement for U.S. Senate, and then, he unexpectedly, for strictly political reasons, changed his views on the Rigged Election of 2020, and lost his Race in a Landslide to Katie Britt, who I Endorsed, Trump wrote, adding, These are the decisions that must be made, however, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The White House and Hurds office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment on the renewed endorsement, and Scheppelman could not be reached. Their silence leaves Trumps statement as the only public explanation for the sudden truce and strategic pivot in the primary.
Hurd, for his part, welcomed the reconciliation and framed it as a step toward consolidating conservative strength in a district that has been a national focal point in recent cycles. Im grateful for President Trumps support and appreciate his efforts to unify Republicans in Colorados Third District, Hurd said in a Friday X post, adding, The President and I share the same goals: securing the border, American energy dominance, and helping working families. I will continue to focus on representing Colorados Third District, delivering results for rural Colorado, and running a serious campaign to earn the support of voters across the district.
With Scheppelman stepping aside and the filing deadline having passed on Wednesday, Hurd now appears to be effectively unopposed for the Republican nomination on June 30. That positions him as the prohibitive favorite to carry the GOP banner in a district where Republicans, and Trump in particular, have historically performed strongly.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the general election contest in Colorados 3rd District as Likely Republican, reflecting the areas conservative tilt and Trumps double-digit margin there in the 2024 presidential race. The seat is notably absent from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees target list, which instead focuses on the neighboring 5th District, a slightly less Republican-leaning area that Trump also carried.
Colorados 3rd District was previously represented by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, a staunch Trump ally who became a lightning rod for the left and a favorite of grassroots conservatives. Boebert opted to run in the redder 4th District in 2024 after nearly losing her seat two years earlier, leaving Hurd to defend a district that remains central to the GOPs effort to hold the House and block the Democrats progressive agenda.
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