Hurd Leverages Trump Feud to Win Colorado's 3rd District

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd is pitching his disagreements with President Donald Trump to voters in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, a strategy he adopted after losing the president’s initial endorsement.

Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, spent his first term casting votes in opposition to the White House. During a constituent meeting at a library in Glenwood Springs last week, he highlighted specific legislative battles. He pointed to his vote to extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. He also cited his support for overriding Trump’s veto of a water bill affecting southeastern Colorado and his push to reverse tariffs on Canadian imports.

“I lost the president’s endorsement because I was willing to take that stand on tariffs,” Hurd told an unaffiliated voter at the event. “If I just wanted to stay in the president’s good graces, I never would have taken that tough vote.”

This approach sets Hurd apart from his colleagues in the state’s congressional delegation. Three other Republicans are running for reelection in 2026, leaning heavily on their ties to the president. Hurd is going in the opposite direction, wearing the attacks from Trump as a badge of independence. He believes this stance will help him withstand national economic headwinds, such as high gasoline and housing costs, which voters may associate with the White House.

However, the political landscape is more complicated than a simple split from the president. Trump re-endorsed Hurd in March, convinced that Republicans could not afford to lose the seat. Furthermore, Hurd’s “yes” vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the massive Republican tax and spending package — gives Democrats a clear line of attack to link him to the president’s agenda.

Lindsay Reilly, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, noted the stakes for Colorado voters. “Jeff Hurd sold Coloradans out by voting to gut their health care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” she said in a recent written statement.

The tension between Hurd’s independent brand and his party loyalty came to a head at the Glenwood Springs library. A woman there confronted him about her family’s financial struggles. Her 45-year-old son, Chris, has a developmental disability. She argued that their Medicaid stipend had decreased, blaming the cut on the One Big Beautiful Bill’s impact on state tax revenues.

Hurd’s campaign now hinges on whether Western Slope voters view his defiance of Trump as principled independence or as a risky gamble against the party tide. The math holds up only if his base values autonomy over alignment. That depends on who you ask.