Will Hurd’s brief vanity run in the Republican presidential primary has come to an end. Will Who? That is the response made by most people.

Hurd, a former CIA officer, represented Texas’ 23rd Congressional District from 2015-21. He had no legislative successes to hang his hat on and was known to do things like travel via car with Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke from Texas to Washington, D.C. when they were both congressmen. They filmed their road trip and it was supposed to show how bi-partisan they could be. It was cringeworthy.

Will Hurd is a never-Trumper and that is why he entered the GOP primary. Like Chris Christie, he was looking to derail Trump’s success in getting the Republican nomination. So, he never really had a lane in which to run in the primary – Christie has the never-Trump lane. He really didn’t offer anything but criticism of Trump. This campaign never caught on.

Hurd was the last candidate to enter the primary race. He did so in June. So, a mere three months later, he’s out. What was the point, other than satisfying his own ego?

When I first entered the Republican presidential primary field in June, I knew I was a dark horse candidate with a path to victory that would contain many obstacles. But as I traveled across the country, I met so many Americans who believed in my campaign’s message of unity and…

— Will Hurd (@WillHurd) October 9, 2023

Hurd promised to lead the Republican Party away from Trump’s MAGA agenda. He was not able to qualify for either the first or second RNC debates. The writing was on the wall. So, on his way off the stage, Hurd decided to pen an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal in which he slammed Governor DeSantis and praised Nikki Haley. He endorsed Haley for the GOP nomination.

Haley thanked him for his support.

America is at a crossroads and it's time to come together and make Joe Biden a one-term president.

Thank you @WillHurd for your support and confidence. We have a country to save! https://t.co/lLDg0NegMd

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) October 9, 2023

In July, Hurd was booed for saying, “Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison.” He did so at a Republican fundraising dinner. The thing that he doesn’t understand is that even people who don’t support Trump for the nomination realize that he is being persecuted, not prosecuted, by Democrats as no other former president has been. Hurd just doesn’t know how to read a room.

His op-ed identified three ‘fallacies’ that will prevent Republicans from stopping Trump from receiving the GOP nomination.

First, that someone who hasn’t yet declared can swoop in to defeat Mr. Trump. Running for president is a complicated undertaking. It requires time to assemble an effective organization that can create a grassroots apparatus in multiple states, execute multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns, establish ballot access across the nation and territories, and institute sufficient fundraising operations. This is impossible if you aren’t already in this race this late.

Second, that donors, influencers, elected officials and candidates can wait to consolidate. A candidate needs the resources and momentum now to establish a strong position in Iowa and New Hampshire. The party can’t wait until next year to counter the narrative that Mr. Trump is invincible. That progress—and significant investment—needs to be made this autumn if a candidate is to have a fighting chance on Super Tuesday.

Third, that Ron DeSantis can rise from the ashes and beat Mr. Trump. The prevailing narrative has been that the Florida governor is the only person suited for the job. It’s time to accept that despite having a name-recognition advantage and an impressive war chest, Mr. DeSantis is a flawed candidate who has failed to establish himself as an alternative to Mr. Trump.

Will Hurd was hoping to be the person who swooped in and was able to defeat Trump. That was never going to work. He has no name recognition, no record on which to run, and he doesn’t offer a positive agenda. Why would voters turn to him?

He sounds jealous of DeSantis, also a former congressman. DeSantis, though, has a stellar record and that is why he was an early favorite as an alternative to Trump. Whether or not he can advance enough to truly challenge Trump strongly enough to derail him in the primary race is questionable at this point. I’m not ready to give up, though, and won’t until some of the primary races occur. No votes have been cast yet. With everything else going on with Trump and his legal challenges, we don’t know what will happen. It looks really good for Trump now but we still have to wait and see what happens when Republican voters go to the polls.

Most Americans don’t want another Biden versus Trump contest. So far, nothing has changed enough to stop a repeat of 2020.