February 27, 2026 10:09 AM UTC

Jeff Hurd's "Bread Sandwich" Strategy For Outlasting Donald Trump

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Durango Herald reports, last night nominal Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd hosted his first public availability since being disowned by Donald Trump last weekend, and Trump threw his support to Hurd’s crackpot challenger Hope Scheppleman. And in Hurd’s now-trademark so understated you barely know he’s there style, Hurd studiously avoided the proverbial elephant in the room:

Both the La Plata County Republicans and Southwest Republican Women declined to comment on Hurd’s loss of endorsement until after the June primaries. However, some local Republicans doubted that Hurd was truly ever a Trump supporter – not necessarily a negative for them.

Hurd has so far declined to respond to The Durango Herald’s requests for comment about losing Trump’s endorsement. But he briefly acknowledged his vote denying Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Canada during a virtual town hall Wednesday…

“If I wouldn’t want a future democratic president using broad emergency powers this way, I shouldn’t support it now,” he said.

That’s as close as Hurd came to explaining his breach with Trump, and just like Hurd’s placid response to Trump’s verbal broadside early this week there has been nothing from Hurd that directly addresses Trump’s displeasure with him. This response, at least as long as it persists, differs from that of other dissident Republicans who turned into some of Trump’s most vocal detractors after Trump threw his support behind opponents. Many of them did so on their way out the door, since Trump has historically enjoyed a very high success rate in Republican primary endorsements. It’s notable that as of this writing, none of Hurd’s fellow Colorado Republican congresspersons have come to Hurd’s defense against the Dear Leader.

But despite this significant career setback, we don’t think Jeff Hurd wants to be a one-term casualty of Donald Trump’s impetuous ego. Without Trump’s meddling, Hurd faced little threat from the underfunded and amateurish Scheppleman, whose sullied reputation after serving as Dave Williams’ right hand during Williams’ looting of the Colorado Republican Party left her with few friends among serious people. It remains to be seen whether Scheppleman will be able to capitalize on Trump’s support enough to compete with Hurd, and our money isn’t on her succeeding.

If that’s the case, Hurd’s refusal to take the bait and return Trump’s rhetorical fire could be the right play in the long run, even if it isn’t as theatrically exciting today. In 2027, Hurd expects to still be in Congress with two more years of Trump, counting on Trump’s willingness to forgive and (mostly) forget. But it’s not without risk: if a stronger Republican jumps in the primary, Hurd’s refusal to fight back could be perceived as weakness. And either way, if Hurd’s Democratic opponent gains traction while Hurd is trying to hold together a majority sans Trump, CO-03 could attract national attention in the fall.

It’s a game of political rock/paper/scissors, stay tuned to see how a bread sandwich fares.