Conservative commentator Patrice Onwuka on Friday weighed in on the retirement of Rep. Will Hurd (Texas), the only black Republican in the House, saying the GOP should make more of an effort to recruit women and people of color.
Onwuka told Hill.TV that she was personally saddened by Hurd’s retirement, saying he has been a “refreshing voice” and a “true conservative.”
“You don’t see a lot of black faces in the GOP in the House anymore and I think there should be greater efforts to get more people who think the way we do and there are plenty of those out there,” Onwuka, a senior policy analyst at the conservative nonprofit Independent Women’s Forum, said on “Rising.”
“That’s not to say that the members there cannot represent our interests,” she continued, citing cutting taxes and deregulation as two prime examples. “But I do think it’s important to recruit more women, more people of color.”
Onwuka also warned against reading too much into the retirement of Hurd, who represents a swing district in Texas, and whether it spells trouble for the party heading into next year’s election.
“I wouldn’t write the obituary,” she said. “You just make a paragraph and put a comma because we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Hurd on Thursday evening abruptly announced plans to retire, becoming the sixth GOP lawmaker and third House Republican from Texas not to seek reelection in 2020.
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) also announced Wednesday that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection, following Rep. Pete Olsen’s (R-Texas) retirement in July.
Hurd maintained following the announcement that he plans to remain active in politics.
“I’ve taken a conservative message to places that don’t often hear it. I’m going to say involved in politics to help make sure the Republican Party looks like America,” he tweeted.
—Tess Bonn
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