Every true MAGA supporter will do everything in their power to unify
In the high desert and mountain corridors of western Colorado, a freshman congressman named Jeff Hurd has navigated one of the more treacherous passages in modern Republican politics — the withdrawal and restoration of a presidential blessing. His primary victory over Ron Hanks is less a story of ideology than of loyalty's strange geometry in an era when a single vote can cost a man everything, and a phone call from the right person can give it back. The November contest ahead will test whether a district that leans Republican but harbors pockets of Democratic strength will reward pragmatism or punish it.
- Hurd's February vote to rebuke Trump's Canada tariffs nearly ended his political career before it had fully begun, stripping him of the one endorsement that matters most in a competitive Republican primary.
- Ron Hanks — an Air Force veteran who stood outside the Capitol on January 6 and once claimed Biden was fraudulently elected — positioned himself as the true believer Hurd could never be, turning the primary into a loyalty tribunal.
- Trump resolved the crowded field not through persuasion but through pressure, convincing Hope Scheppelman to exit the race in exchange for a federal appointment, consolidating the MAGA lane behind Hurd.
- Hurd's record is genuinely mixed — he broke with Trump on tariffs, Russia sanctions, and a veto override — yet voted with the president on most major legislation, leaving him neither fully establishment nor fully insurgent.
- Democrats see a five-point margin of victory as an open door, and with businessman Alex Kelloff and Army veteran Dwayne Romero competing for the nomination, this western Colorado seat is shaping up as one of the most watched House races of the midterm cycle.
Jeff Hurd entered Tuesday night having nearly lost the thing that matters most in today's Republican Party: Donald Trump's endorsement. The Colorado congressman won his primary across a vast district spanning the state's western and southern reaches, defeating Ron Hanks in a contest that became a referendum on loyalty itself.
The road to the nomination had been genuinely precarious. In February, Trump withdrew his support after Hurd voted with Democrats on a measure to terminate the president's Canada tariffs — a largely symbolic act that nonetheless felt, in the current political climate, like a declaration of independence. By March, Trump reversed course, re-endorsed Hurd, and pressured Hope Scheppelman — a Navy veteran and former Colorado GOP vice chair — to abandon her primary challenge. She did, accepting a senior advisory role at the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump's message was characteristically direct: unity or defeat.
With Scheppelman gone, Hanks stepped in. A veteran who had been present at the Capitol on January 6 — though not charged — Hanks branded Hurd a 'fake conservative' and argued the incumbent had shown insufficient fealty to the president. It was his second run against Hurd; in 2024, Hurd had won with just over 40 percent. Hurd's record was more complicated than either his critics or defenders allowed: he had broken with Trump on tariffs, a Russia sanctions package, and a veto override involving a Colorado water project, yet aligned with the president on most major votes.
The general election will be genuinely competitive. Hurd carried the district by only five points in 2024 — a narrow margin in Republican-leaning terrain that nonetheless contains Democratic strongholds in wealthy ski towns and Pueblo. Businessman Alex Kelloff and Army veteran Dwayne Romero are vying for the Democratic nomination, and whoever emerges will have a credible path to flipping the seat, making this one of the most closely watched House races of the coming midterms.
Jeff Hurd stood at the threshold of his political career on Tuesday night with something he'd nearly lost: Donald Trump's blessing. The Colorado congressman had won his party's primary in a sprawling district that covers nearly all of the state's western and southern reaches, defeating Ron Hanks in a race that had become a referendum on loyalty—both to Trump and to the conservative movement itself.
Hurd's path to the nomination was anything but smooth. Earlier this year, Trump had withdrawn his endorsement after the freshman lawmaker voted with Democrats on a largely symbolic measure to terminate the president's Canada tariffs in February. For a Republican in a competitive district, losing Trump's support felt like losing oxygen. But in March, Trump reversed course. He re-endorsed Hurd and simultaneously pressured Hope Scheppelman, a Navy veteran and former vice chair of Colorado's Republican Party who had been mounting a primary challenge from the right, to abandon her campaign. Scheppelman accepted the offer and joined the Department of Health and Human Services as a senior advisor on substance abuse. Trump's message was blunt: unity or defeat. "Every true MAGA supporter and Republican, if they truly care about saving our Country, will do everything in their power to unify together, and defeat the Crazed Radical Left Democrats this November," he wrote on Truth Social.
With Scheppelman out of the race, Hanks stepped in. An Air Force veteran, Hanks had challenged Hurd once before in 2024, when the now-incumbent won with just over 40 percent of the vote. This time, Hanks cast himself as the authentic conservative, branding Hurd a "fake conservative" and arguing that the congressman had shown insufficient loyalty to Trump. Hanks had his own controversial history: he had been present at the Capitol on January 6, though he claimed he never entered the building and was not criminally charged. He had also alleged, without evidence, that Joe Biden was "fraudulently elected."
Hurd's record in Congress told a more complicated story. He had indeed broken with Trump on tariff policy and on a Russia sanctions package. He had also joined Representative Lauren Boebert in voting to override one of Trump's vetoes, on a water pipeline project in Colorado's Arkansas Valley. Yet on most major legislation, Hurd had voted with the president. He was a lawyer who had previously chaired the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce and now served as vice chair of the Western Caucus, sitting on the House Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
The primary victory sets up a genuinely competitive general election. Democrats are targeting Hurd's seat after he won the district by just five points in 2024—a narrow margin in a Republican-leaning area. The district contains Democratic strongholds concentrated in several wealthy ski towns and Pueblo. On the Democratic side, businessman Alex Kelloff and Army veteran Dwayne Romero are competing for their party's nomination. Whoever emerges from that primary will have a real chance to flip the seat in November, making this one of the year's most closely watched House races.
Notable Quotes
Hanks cast Hurd as a 'fake conservative' and insufficiently loyal to the president— Ron Hanks, in interview with The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Every true MAGA supporter and Republican, if they truly care about saving our Country, will do everything in their power to unify together, and defeat the Crazed Radical Left Democrats this November— Donald Trump, on Truth Social
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Trump pull his endorsement in the first place if Hurd was his guy?
Because Hurd voted with Democrats on the tariff measure. For Trump, that was a betrayal of loyalty—the kind of thing that can't be overlooked, even in a competitive district.
But then he re-endorsed him. What changed?
Trump realized that Scheppelman, the challenger, was a threat to his influence in the primary. So he made her an offer she couldn't refuse—a job in his administration. Once she was out, Hurd became the safer choice.
Is Hurd actually a Trump loyalist, or is he just pragmatic?
He's pragmatic. He breaks with Trump when it matters to his district—tariffs, water projects—but votes with him on the big votes. That's the calculation of someone representing a competitive seat.
What does Hanks represent in this race?
The purist wing. He's saying Hurd isn't conservative enough, isn't loyal enough. But Hanks also has baggage—January 6, the election fraud claims—that makes him a riskier general election candidate.
So Democrats are hoping Hurd wins the primary?
Not exactly. They're hoping whoever wins is beatable. Hurd won by five points last time in a Republican district. That's vulnerable. Either way, they have a real shot in November.