The only African-American Republican in Congress will not run again

Texas Rep. Will Hurd will work outside of government to “help make sure the Republican Party looks like America."

Texas Rep. Will Hurd, the only Black Republican in the House of Representatives, announced on that he will not be running for reelection for the upcoming year.

Brianna Rhodes

Aug 3, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 13: House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Will Hurd (D-TX) listens to testimony from experts on the subject of 'deepfakes,' digitally manipulated video and still images, during a hearing in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Texas Rep. Will Hurd, the only Black Republican in the House of Representatives, announced on that he will not be running for reelection for the upcoming year.

“I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security,” he stated via Twitter.

I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security. https://t.co/GeZ4Hh264f

— Rep. Will Hurd (@HurdOnTheHill) August 2, 2019

Hurd, who has been one of the few Republicans to publicly criticize President Donald Trump, said that he will continue to help the country in a different way and will remain in politics to “help make sure the Republican Party looks like America.”

Before winning a position in the House of Representatives, the Texas politicians served in the CIA in the Middle East and South Asia as an undercover officer, the Salon reports.

Hurd made this announcement soon after another GOP congressman from Texas, Rep. Mike Conaway made the decision to retire this week. Hurd is the sixth person in the GOP to retire within the past two weeks.

He has represented districts between San Antonio and El Paso in his role since 2014. He narrowly defeated Democrat Pete Gallego during his first run by 2,400 votes.

He also won re-election against Gallego again in 2016 by 3,000 votes and defeated Iraq War veteran, Gina Ortiz Jones last year, winning his seat by less than 1,000 votes.

“I will keep fighting to ensure the country I love excels during what will be a time of unprecedented technological change,” Hurd said in his statement on his site. “I will keep fighting to make certain we successfully meet these generational challenges head on. I will keep fighting to remind people why I love America: that we are neither Republican nor Democrat nor Independent; We are better than the sum of our parts.”