Hurd says voters want a candidate ’who’s not a jerk’

GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd said Sunday that people want a candidate “who’s not a jerk, who’s not a racist, who’s not a misogynist,” and took aim at the two GOP frontrunners in the 2024 election.

“And here’s what I’ve learned criss crossing this country,” Hurd told CBS’s Major Garrett on “Face the Nation.” “There are more people that are sick and tired of the direction the Democratic Party is going. And what they want is someone who’s not a jerk, who’s not a racist, who’s not a misogynist, who’s not someone who’s a homophobe. This is the opportunity the Republican Party has.”

Garrett then asked Hurd, who has been an outspoken critic of former President Trump, if those words all describe Trump.

“The four words you just used, do all of them apply to former President Trump?” Garrett asked.

“At times, absolutely. And at times, other places and other candidates that are in this race. Guess what? Slavery, there’s no upside to slavery. We shouldn’t have to be having that conversation in 2023,” Hurd said, taking a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new education standards that suggest that students should be taught that enslaved people “developed skills” for personal benefit.

Hurd also said that he is “close” to meeting the donor threshold to qualify for the August GOP presidential debate, but declined to say how many more donations he needs to qualify.