Iraq War vet Ortiz Jones sets up rematch against Hurd in Texas

Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones announced Tuesday that she will launch another bid for Congress against Texas Rep. Will Hurd (R) in 2020.  

“Last November I came up a little bit short in my run for congress — 926 votes,” the Iraq War veteran said in a video posted to Twitter. “But I’ve never been one to back down because the promise of our country is worth fighting for.”

“It’s why I’m stepping up again to run for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District,” she said.

I’m running for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. Please share, and join us as we finish what we started. pic.twitter.com/rON4Qaa0dp

— Gina Ortiz Jones (@GinaOrtizJones) May 14, 2019

The race between Ortiz Jones and the Republican congressman remained close to call for nearly two weeks after November’s midterm election. Vote counts had shown Ortiz Jones trailing Hurd by fewer than 1,200 votes — about 0.5 points — before she decided to end her bid to oust Hurd.{mosads}

Texas’s 23rd District, which stretches from the western suburbs of San Antonio to the eastern suburbs of El Paso, was among those where Democrats hoped to make inroads.

Ortiz Jones told supporters after conceding that she was “very likely” to run again. A former Air Force intelligence officer, she faces former Russia Today anchor Liz Wahl in the Democratic primary.

Wahl made headlines in 2014 when she quit her hosting job at the Russian-owned news network on air, while denouncing Russia’s involvement in Crimea, which voted to secede from Ukraine and is currently occupied by Russian-aligned forces.