House cyber leader raking in GOP donations

The GOP is pouring funds into freshman Rep. Will Hurd’s campaign coffers, according to a breakdown of the Texas lawmaker’s first finance report of 2015 by the San Antonio Express-News.

A former CIA operative and cybersecurity analyst, Hurd has quickly become a leading voice in the House on cybersecurity, chairing a House subcommittee dealing with the issue.

{mosads}Hurd likely became the first person to jump from the cybersecurity industry to Capitol Hill when he edged out incumbent Rep. Pete Gallego (D) in Texas’s 23rd District.

And it appears the Republican Party wants to keep him there. Between January and March of this year, Hurd took in a robust $529,000.

While 60 percent of the total did come from individual donors, a significant chunk was donated by GOP lawmakers’ political committees and former Republican members of Congress.

At least 39 political committees, spread over 20 states, made donations ranging from $1,000 to several thousand dollars. At least another 20 checks came from leadership PACs, which can be established by members of Congress but are not official committees and operate under looser campaign contribution laws.

Hurd also got money from former Texas congressional bigwigs. Former Rep. Henry Bonilla (R), who used to represent Hurd’s district, chipped in $2,500. Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm (R) and his wife Wendy also gave the maximum amount possible, $10,800.

As chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Information Technology, Hurd plays a crucial role in monitoring federal agency cybersecurity.

With agencies from the U.S. Postal Service to the White House getting hacked over the last year, Hurd’s committee has only grown in importance.

Gallego is seeking a rematch against Hurd in 2016.