Gina Ortiz Jones to again run for Congress, challenge Rep. Will Hurd in 2020

SAN ANTONIO – Gina Ortiz Jones on Tuesday announced that she will be running for Congress in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District in 2020.

Jones back in November lost to Rep. Will Hurd by 926 votes and conceded nearly two weeks after the 2018 election.

Jones, a Democrat, is a former Air Force intelligence officer and Iraq War veteran who once served in President Barack Obama's administration.

Her campaign claims Hurd is "out of touch with Texas families after years spent prioritizing his political career in D.C. over the interests of his constituents".

Jones was resigned to having lost the 2018 election after The Associated Press called the close race for Hurd late on election night. 

But at 12:49 a.m. Nov. 7, the AP withdrew its call for the race, saying higher-than-anticipated votes came in for the Democrat in Medina County. About two hours later, the results showed Ortiz Jones winning by 282 votes, but that changed about an hour later, giving Hurd the lead again by 689 votes.

Despite repeated requests from Hurd to concede, Ortiz Jones originally refused to do so, wanting all provisional ballots, military or overseas ballots to be counted.

"But I’ve never been one to back down, because the promise of our country is worth fighting for," Ortiz Jones said. "It's why I joined the military and deployed to Iraq, it's why I served in President Obama’s administration, and it's why I’ve dedicated my life to public service. And it’s why I’m stepping up again to run for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. Join us as we finish what we started."

KSAT 12 on Tuesday reached out to Rep. Will Hurd and a spokesperson responded to the news with the following comment: 

"Is it Groundhog Day? Surely the national Democrats know what happened the last time their candidate lost and ran again in TX-23. Gina must still be reminiscing from her all expenses paid trip home to D.C. to see what it was like to be a member of Congress for a day with her best friends Omar, Rashida and AOC. She still owes the taxpayers a refund for that trip."

This is a developing story. Stay with KSAT 12 both online and on-air for more information.