Trump re-endorses U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, convinces Republican primary challenger to drop out, in another shakeup for western Colorado race
Trump had pulled his support for Hurd last month after the congressman voted to oppose the president’s tariffs, but now says he should not be “impeded” from winning re-election
Robert Tann Follow
Larry Robinson/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include statements from U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s office.
Less than a month after pulling his support for U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s re-election campaign, President Donald Trump last week reversed course, re-endorsing the congressman in his effort to hold onto his western Colorado congressional seat in November.
Trump had initially endorsed Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, last fall, but reversed his support in February after Hurd joined nearly every U.S. House Democrat in voting to oppose the president’s tariffs on Canada. Hurd was one of just six Republicans to do so.
But in a March 20 Truth Social post, Trump said he was again endorsing Hurd and that he had convinced his Republican primary challenger, Hope Scheppelman, to drop out of the race. Trump said Scheppelman would be joining his administration “in a capacity to be determined.”
“We decided that Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado’s 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,” Trump wrote.
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The about-face comes as House Republicans work to hold onto their slim majority in this year’s midterm elections. Republicans currently hold a 217-214 majority, and Democrats have led in the vast majority of polls for control of Congress.
Hurd, in a post on X, said he is “grateful for President Trump’s support” and appreciates his effort to “unify Republicans” in the 3rd District.
“The President and I share the same goals: securing the border, American energy dominance, and helping working families,” Hurd added. “I will continue to focus on representing Colorado’s Third District, delivering results for rural Colorado, and running a serious campaign to earn the support of voters across the district.”
Asked how important Hurd believes Trump’s endorsement is to his re-election campaign, spokesperson Nick Bayer stated, “Congressman Hurd is confident that the voters of (the 3rd Congressional District) will vote to re-elect him because he has consistently voted to put the district first.”
POLITICO reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, and other House GOP leaders had for weeks been pushing Trump and White House officials to throw support behind Hurd.
Bayer said Hurd did not ask Trump to re-endorse him or to convince his primary challenger to drop out, nor did he ask Republican leadership to lobby for the president’s support on his behalf.
The 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from northwest Colorado to Pueblo, favors Republicans. Hurd won his seat in 2024 by 5 percentage points, or 19,804 votes. Still, he underperformed Trump, who won the district that same year by nearly 10 points in his bid to retake the White House.
In his race for re-election, Hurd faced a challenge from Scheppelman in the Republican primary, which will be held in June.
A Navy veteran and a former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party, Scheppelman had positioned herself to the right of Hurd ideologically, calling the congressman “another liberal elitist who is dead set against President Trump and the millions of MAGA citizens like me who demand that Congress does the will of voters.”
In a statement last week, Scheppelman said she had ended her primary bid at Trump’s request, adding that she wanted to “do all I can to help ensure that the radical leaders in today’s Democrat Party do not take this seat.”
“Jeff Hurd now has the opportunity to correct his naive voting record and support President Trump, and our slim Republican majority in the U.S. House, in our shared battle to save the country we love,” Scheppelman said. “If he does not, I will run again in 2028 and defeat him in order to give the citizens of Colorado’s 3rd district, and all of America, the representation we deserve.”
The latest campaign finance reports show Hurd had raised over $2.3 million as of the end of December, while Scheppelman had raised $212,000.
Two Aspen-area Democrats are running to be the nominee to face Hurd in November.
Until recently, businessman Alex Kelloff, the co-founder of Armada Skis, was the lone Democrat running to unseat Hurd. But in early March, Dwayne Romero, a former member of the Aspen City Council and Aspen School District Board of Education, jumped into the race. The primary will be held in June.
Campaign finance reports show Kelloff had raised more than $850,000, though his campaign said he has since raised over $1 million.
Kellof, in an interview Monday, said Trump’s pressuring by GOP leaders to re-endorse Hurd and clear the Republican primary field indicates the competitiveness of the race.
The last time the 3rd Congressional District almost flipped to Democrats was in 2022, when Rep. Lauren Boebert, who formerly represented the region, came within 546 votes of losing her seat to former Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch.
“This district is in play, and I do feel that that’s the case when I’m out talking to constituents across the district,” Kellof said.
He said Hurd will now have “the resources of Donald Trump behind him,” but maintains that the congressman is “deeply unpopular,” citing his lack of in-person town halls with constituents.
“It’s always going to be a challenging race in a district this large running against an incumbent, but my thoughts haven’t really changed about the dynamics of this race,” Kellof said.
