Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd said he would not sign a Republican National Committee (RNC) pledge to back the eventual GOP nominee for president in 2024, after launching his bid for the nomination Thursday.
“I won’t be signing any kind of pledges, and I don’t think that parties should be trying to rig who should be on a debate stage,” Hurd told CNN.
The loyalty pledge is among the criteria Republican candidates must meet to qualify for the first GOP presidential primary debate in August, in addition to polling and fundraising requirements.
“I am not in the business of lying to the American people in order to get a microphone, and I’m not going to support Donald Trump,” Hurd said. “And so I can’t honestly say I’m going to sign something even if he may or may not be the nominee.”
Former President Trump is currently leading a crowded Republican field, despite being indicted for a second time earlier this month on federal charges related to his handling of classified materials.
An Emerson College poll released Thursday showed Trump leading with 59 percent support among GOP primary voters. While this represents a slight dip in support for the former president, his closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sat nearly 40 points behind him, with 21 percent.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel doubled down on the GOP loyalty pledge Thursday, saying the requirement is “staying.”
“Anybody who wants to seek the nomination of our party should pledge to support the voters,” McDaniel said on “Fox News Tonight.” “If you go through this process and you take time on the debate stage and you’re going to be there, the No. 1 pledge should be, beat Biden.”
However, several other candidates have appeared hesitant about such a pledge. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another anti-Trump Republican presidential candidate, called it a “useless idea” on Sunday.
“In all my life, we never had to have Republican primary candidates take a pledge. You know, we were Republicans. And the idea is you’d support the Republican whether you won or whether you lost,” he said, adding, “It’s only the era of Donald Trump that you need somebody to sign something on a pledge.”
Trump has not committed to signing the loyalty pledge, saying in March that he “wouldn’t be very happy about endorsing” some of his fellow candidates.