MIAMI, Fla. – Former Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd hopes that some of the remaining GOP White House contenders will follow in his footsteps.
Hurd, a former CIA spy turned three-term congressman from Texas, last month ended his long-shot bid for the 2024 Republican nomination.
“It has become clear to me and my team that the time has come to suspend our campaign,” Hurd said as he dropped out of the race.
Fast-forward a month, and the vocal critic of the GOP nomination front-runner — former President Donald Trump — has a message for some of the other candidates still in the race who face steep uphill climbs to victory.
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Former Rep. Will Hurd, a one-time CIA spy who ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before ending his bid in October, addresses the crowd at the Salem GOP’s annual Labor Day picnic in Salem, New Hampshire, on Sept. 4, 2023. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Hurd told Fox News Digital it’s time for the 2024 field to further winnow.
“It’s hard to put aside your own personal ambitions and ego, but this is about the country, this is about making sure that we have another 247 years of a country, of a way of life that has become the envy of the world, and that’s what we need to focus on,” he said.
Hurd was interviewed in the spin room following the third GOP presidential primary debate, which was held Wednesday in Miami.
From left: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., stand on stage before the third Republican presidential primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The former congressman, who endorsed Nikki Haley as he ended his campaign, was at the debate as a surrogate for the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration.
“Nikki Haley’s the only person who can beat Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and that’s where I hope some of these candidates can consolidate around. And tonight she showed her grasp of the issues,” Hurd emphasized. “We’re living in a dangerous world. It’s only going to get more dangerous, and Nikki Haley’s ready to lead on day one.”
Late last month, former Vice President Mike Pence became the first major Republican presidential contender to drop out of the 2024 GOP nomination race.
Besides Hurd, the other contenders who also failed to make the debate stage who have ended their presidential bids are Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, business leader and quality control expert Perry Johnson, and 2021 California gubernatorial recall election candidate and former conservative talk radio host Larry Elder.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Newton, Iowa, on Sept. 16, 2023. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who qualified for the first debate but didn’t make the stage at the second and third showdowns, remains in the race for now.
Hutchinson, whose shoestring campaign is running low on cash, has said he will reevaluate his standing come Thanksgiving.
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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who narrowly missed qualifying for Wednesday’s debate, is a multimillionaire due to his private sector success in the tech industry. He has more than ample resources to stay in the race and continues to campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two lead-off states in the GOP nominating calendar.
As for his own political future, Hurd told Fox News, “I’ve been fortunate to have some great experiences. I love my country and if I can serve my country, I’ll always evaluate it.”
He added, “Right now, it’s trying to help Nikki Haley however I can, take my wife on a honeymoon, and then we’ll go from there.”