Representative Jeff Hurd

Jeffrey Stephen Hurd is an American politician and lawyer representing Colorado's vast 3rd Congressional District, which stretches across the Western Slope and much of rural southern Colorado. The oldest of three sons, Hurd was raised in Grand Junction, where his father worked as a psychologist counseling low-income families. His mother died of cancer while he was in high school, an experience that shaped his outlook on family, community, and the limits of self-reliance. He graduated from Grand Junction High School before heading east to earn a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.

After college, Hurd returned to Grand Junction and worked for the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce before pursuing a law degree at the University of Denver. After earning his JD, he clerked for Timothy Tymkovich, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, one of the most prestigious clerkship placements in the federal judiciary. He then joined a major international law firm based in New York City before deciding to move back to his hometown in 2014. In Grand Junction, he launched his own firm and later joined Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, managing its Grand Junction office and building a practice rooted in the region's energy, construction, and business sectors.

Hurd entered the 2024 congressional race to succeed Lauren Boebert after she switched to Colorado's 4th District. He won a competitive six-way Republican primary with 41% of the vote, defeating state Rep. Ron Hanks and four other challengers. In a deliberate departure from Boebert's combative style, Hurd campaigned on being, in his own words, "as exciting as a bread sandwich", positioning himself as a competent, low-drama conservative focused on Western Slope issues rather than national controversy. In November, he narrowly defeated Democratic Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch by roughly five points in one of the most competitive congressional races in the country.

In Congress, Hurd has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent moderate voices in the House Republican Conference. In April 2025, he was among a dozen Republicans who signed a letter to House leadership warning they could not support any reconciliation bill that cut Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations. He was also one of only six Republicans to vote to rescind Trump administration tariffs on Canada, a notable break on trade policy. He chairs the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs and holds seats on Natural Resources, Science, Space, and Technology, and Transportation and Infrastructure, committees directly relevant to the energy, water, and infrastructure priorities of his sprawling district.

Moderate Republican