Friendly reception in Iowa for Republican who was booed in July for criticizing Trump

DES MOINES — The last time Will Hurd addressed a crowd of Iowans, his time at the microphone was cut short by a chorus of boos.

In his first return trip to the state since that moment last month at a state party fundraiser, the long shot Republican presidential candidate had a more prototypical “Iowa Nice” experience.

The former congressman from Texas and former CIA officer visited the Iowa State Fair on Friday. He made his way briefly around the fairgrounds and also participated in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Fair-Side Chat” interview series with presidential candidates and the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox.

Hurd did not draw a lot of attention from fairgoers — certainly not as much as the Republican presidential primary’s front-runners, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But the people who did approach Hurd said they impressed or asked him a policy question.

None mentioned Hurd’s July 28 appearance in Iowa, when at the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner fundraiser, Hurd accused Trump of running for president again not to represent Americans or make America great again, but to “to stay out of prison.” The comments drew a loud chorus of boos from many, and Hurd promptly ended his remarks.

Trump has been indicted on charges stemming from four different cases — his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, his alleged financial misconduct in New York, and the alleged use of campaign funds to make a hush money payment to a former porn star with whom he had an affair.

“I love being in Iowa, and people have been appreciative. And what I get, especially walking through (the State Fair) is, ‘Hey, Will, thanks for speaking the truth. Thanks for speaking truth to power,’ ” Hurd said. “When I came here, I delivered those remarks not to the people that I knew were going to boo me, but it’s to the people there that agree with me, which is the majority of Americans.

“So I’m going to continue to speak truth to power. I’ve been shot at; people have tried to blow me up. A handful of people booing, I’m OK. I got tough skin.”

One person who greeted Hurd on Friday was Richard Juel, who said he once lived in Iowa but now lives in Pennsylvania. Juel said he likes Hurd more than many of the other Republican presidential candidates, for reasons that include Hurd not denying the 2020 election results.

When asked by a fairgoer at the Soapbox about the 2020 election, Hurd replied, “Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Full stop.” The response drew applause from many of the roughly three dozen people who were watching.

“He’s reasonable and balanced,” Juel said of Hurd.

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Hurd is polling just one-tenth of 1 percent in Real Clear Politics’ rolling average of national polls on the Republican presidential primary. He regularly polls at 1 percent or not at all. He received less than half of 1 percent in a recent poll of Iowa Republicans by the New York Times and Siena College.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com