Hurd Wins Reelection Battle

One of government tech’s biggest advocates is returning for another term on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, officially won his reelection bid nearly two weeks after the polls closed. His challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones, conceded the race Monday after trailing by less than 1,000 votes in Texas’ massive 23rd congressional district.

Over the weekend, a judge denied Ortiz Jones’ request to extend the deadline for people casting provisional ballots to confirm their eligibility to vote.

Hurd has a history of winning hotly contested races: He unseated incumbent Pete Gallego by 2.1 points in 2014 and defeated Gallego again in 2016 by just 1.3 points. His victory over Ortiz Jones came by less than half a percentage point.

“I want to thank my opponent and her supporters for engaging in the democratic process,” Hurd said Monday in a statement. “To thrive, our democracy needs a vigorous competition of ideas, and whether you voted for me or not, I will need your help. I will continue fighting for you every day in Congress.”

Now entering his third term, Hurd remains one of the most vocal supporters of IT modernization in Congress. He sponsored the Modernizing Government Technology Act, which created the Technology Modernization Fund, and as chair of the House Oversight IT subcommittee, he helped establish the FITARA scorecard, explored the national security implications of artificial intelligence and pushed to strengthen agencies’ cybersecurity workforce.

“I’m proud that my constituents are sending me back to Congress for a historic third term so I can continue my bipartisan work on developing a National AI strategy, strengthening our nation’s cyber defenses, improving IT procurement throughout the government and implementing a cyber reserve program to bulk up our talent pipeline of cyber warriors,” Hurd told Nextgov.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include a comment from Rep. Will Hurd.