You likely missed it, but former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has dropped out of the GOP presidential nomination race and thrown his support, such as it is, behind one of the remaining candidates: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Hurd lays out his reasons for backing Haley – who is currently polling second in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and 3rd in Iowa. While former President Donald Trump still has a commanding lead against all comers for the nomination, that he still doesn’t have 50% or more support in those early states gives a sliver of a glimmer of hope to those who would see him permanently retired to Florida.
Hurd’s Journal piece may sound to some like wish casting – that there’s a candidate in the field right now who can beat Trump if a lot of things go right.
But perhaps the more interesting part of Hurd’s piece is the cold water he throws on the feeling, perpetuated in the press and among the monied class, that a white knight like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin can still ride to the rescue:
Running for president is a complicated undertaking. It requires time to assemble an effective organization that can create a grassroots apparatus in multiple states, execute multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns, establish ballot access across the nation and territories, and institute sufficient fundraising operations. This is impossible if you aren’t already in this race this late.
Perhaps not impossible. Just extremely difficult. And incredibly expensive. While those who still pine for Youngkin believe all obstacles can be overcome, and money is no object…I suggest they go talk to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the real obstacles to running a bona fide, national campaign even when money is no object.
Though to be fair, if the object is to burn big piles of cash on consultants, staff, and media…then there’s a reserve army of such folks waiting to take every dime a campaign has. Just don’t think for a second any of it will produce results.
But back to Hurd’s endorsement of Haley. Hurd writes:
Our nation deserves a leader who can unite us and navigate the complex challenges we face, particularly on national security. Ms. Haley is the best person in this race to do that. I encourage donors, fellow candidates, Republican elected officials, conservative influencers and anyone worried about our republic to support her too.
That would seem to be both an endorsement of Haley and a swipe at the remaining candidates, particularly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose campaign eerily appears to be following the script of previous Florida pols who aspired to the White House: lots of cash, a great base at home…and nothing else.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Republican Standard. It first appeared in American Liberty News.