The Republican representing San Antonio and a swath of the South Texas border looks to have been outstripped by Democratic opponent Gina Ortiz Jones on daily fundraising totals. He’s also being skewered in the cycle’s first Spanish-language ads for failing to speak up vigorously against President Trump’s hardline immigration policies.
Jones’ campaign announced Tuesday that she’s raised $12,240 per day in just 48 days of campaigning to represent Texas’ sprawling 23rd Congressional District. Hurd, in contrast, raised $7,700 per day over 91 days of campaigning.
What’s more, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Spanish-language digital ad, which started in mid-June, accuses Hurd of selling himself as centrist even though he hasn’t taken a strong stand against the president’s immigration policies. The ad targets Spanish-speaking voters via Facebook and Instagram.
To Hurd’s credit, though, he was one of the three Texas Republicans who condemned Trump’s racist tweet this week demanding that four Democratic congresswomen of color to “go back” to their countries of origin — never mind that three of the four are U.S.-born.
Democrats are spending big to back Jones, an Iraq War veteran who narrowly missed election against Hurd in 2018, sensing that her opponent may be among the most vulnerable GOP House incumbents. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has promised to vigorously back Hurd, a two-term incumbent and former CIA officer.
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This article appears in Jul 3-16, 2019.
