PrairiePundit

Washington Examiner: GOP Rep. Will Hurd of Texas is not willing to impeach President Trump on the evidence so far presented to Congress about the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hurd is one of a handful of vocal Trump critics within the GOP in Congress. He is also not running for reelection in 2020. Hurd delivered his verdict on Thursday on the fifth and likely final day of testimony for witnesses in the House impeachment investigation into Trump's July 25 phone call. The impeachment investigation began after a CIA whistleblower alleged that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to secure investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden. ... This is a good decision by Will Hurd.  I hate to see him leave Congress and wish him well.  I personally do not believe there was anything wrong with Trump's phone call and that Joe Biden should be investigated for his dealings and his son's dealing with a corrupt organization th...

Washington Post: ‘Take Texas seriously’: GOP anxiety spikes after retirements, Democratic gains A rising GOP star announced he would not seek reelection at a time when changing demographics and a wave of liberal activism have given new hope to Democrats. The demographics in Hurd's district have not changed that much, especially for legal voters.  He has won in a District that was specifically drawn up to be a Democrat stronghold.  He is a black Republican in a largely Hispanic district.  Those demographics have not changed at all.  He has won because he better candidate.  Districts that have been trending more to the left in Texas are in urban areas where white females don't appear to like Trump's style.  Hurd's district is not one that fits that demographic.  It is one where the Hispanic voters are trending more conservative.  I wish Will well in his new endeavors.

Daily Mail: Good news at last for the Republicans - but not for Trump: Democrats FAIL to flip Congressional seat held by persistent critic of the president Will Hurd kept the 23rd District in Texas, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, after his Democratic challenger conceded. He has accused Trump of being manipulated by Putin. I am glad Will won this race in a district that was designed to favor Democrats.   I am sorry to see that he apparently bought into aspects of the Russian hoax.  I don't think Trump is being manipulated by Putin and I think Will needs to take another look at that issue.  I do believe that Trump is coming to believe that Russia's actions make better relations with that country unlikely at this point unless there is a change in policy by the Putin government.

Robert Stacey McCain: As a mob of thousands of migrants made their way north from Honduras toward the U.S. border last week, events in a closely-watched congressional race took an important turn. Politico reported that Democrats had pulled resources out of their campaign against Republican Rep. Will Hurd in the 23rd District of Texas. If their national leadership has ceded TX23 — one of the most competitive districts in the country — Democrats’ chance of a Nov. 6 “blue wave” is now in serious doubt. The connection between the American midterm election and the northbound caravan of Honduran migrants is probably not a coincidence, although liberals in the media will scream “conspiracy theory” at any Republican who points this out. If your cynical hunch is that the latest “refugee” crisis has been manufactured by the Left as an election-year propaganda effort, however, you’re not alone. A Google search for the terms “Soros + Honduras + caravan” turned up nearly 300,000 results Friday. Y...

CNN: A coalition of border state lawmakers and moderates are looking to take charge of the wall debate -- offering their own plan to build a "smart" wall that draws from the insight of Silicon Valley and virtual reality entrepreneur Palmer Luckey. The move seeks to balance between President Donald Trump's aggressive push for border security and reticence by moderates in Washington to commit to an expensive show of force that experts at the border question will actually be productive. The "Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology Act," or SMART Act, will be introduced Thursday morning by Republican Rep. Will Hurd, whose Texas district has more than 800 miles of the Southern border, one-third of the total border with Mexico and more than any other single lawmaker. To back up the bill, Hurd has been using the estimates and insights of Anduril Industries, a Silicon Valley-based defense technology company founded by Luckey, who also founded Oculus VR. H...

Politico: Will Hurd Is the Future of the GOP* *If he can hold on to the toughest seat in Texas. Hurd is a bright guy and a good politician.  The former CIA agent has strong national security credentials.  I think he needs to do a better job of explaining his opposition to a border fence as well as alternatives he thinks would be more effective.  I suspect that much of the opposition in his district comes from ranchers who need access to the water in the river for their livestock.  If that is the issue, then we need to look at creative solutions to do both.  I just do not believe that those same ranchers want illegal aliens trespassing on their property.