Will Hurd, a former Congressman from south Texas and the first black Texas A&M University Student Body President during its bonfire tragedy 25 years ago is thankful to the 42,500 campaign donors that put him past the 40,000-threshold required by the Republican National Committee to be in Wednesday’s debate.

“We did it y’all. Thank you to everyone who donated and helped us. Thank you to everyone who believes in our vision that America deserves a better option. To surpass this first donor milestone is a great feat,” said Texas native Hurd who served as Texas’ only black Republican U.S. Representative from 2015 to 2021.

During a Wednesday interview Hurd said he thinks he will be able to make the polling requirement before the deadline, set for 48 hours prior to the debate too.

“I’m pretty confident we’re going to be able to hit those requirements before the deadline on Aug. 21st,” Hurd said.

Hurd, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for nine years following his earning his computer science and international relations degree, served both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2010 he returned to Texas after advising those in Congress on the challenges in South Asia and decided to run himself. He lost in 2010 but came back and beat the incumbent Congressman Peteo Gallego in a two-thirds Hispanic Congressional District and the most borderline GOP District.

Hurd is the only candidate in the country endorsed by former CIA director and former U. S. Defense Secretary Bill Gates who admired Hurd’s hard work for the Country at the CIA.

“Hurd has the character and the integrity and the leadership skills for higher office,” Gates said.

After winning the Republican Primary in his re-nomination in March 2016 Hurd distanced himself from President Trump blasting Trump for his “nasty rhetoric” about Muslims and Hispanics; especially since Hurd’s district included more of the Texas and American border with Mexico than any other U.S. Representative

District. He criticized Trump’s banner headlines to proposing to build an $8 billion- and 1,000-mile border wall between Mexico and the United States.

Hurd hails himself as more of a “bridge builder than wall builder.” He became a famous traveler with then Democrat U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke when the young

Congress Members from South Texas shared a rental car from San Antonio Airport to get to Washington D.C. when planes were shut grounded from snow.

Hurd affirmed he would not vote for Trump because of Trump’s attacks both on women and minorities and fought to win because of he would fight for veterans, for “people of color,” students and senior citizens.

His 2021 race was the closest in Texas and one of the closest in the Country.

As the only black Republican in Congress, he said “government in the lives of African Americans should be to empower them to do for themselves.” He also

was the only Republican to represent the district along the U.S. Mexico border.