In a surprise twist, President Donald Trump on Friday said he is again endorsing Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd after pulling his support from the Grand Junction Republican last month and instead backing his primary challenger in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that Hope Scheppelman, the former vice chair of the Colorado GOP who has been running against Hurd, will end her campaign and join the Trump administration after meeting with the president and her husband.

Trump said they jointly decided that Hurd should have a clear path to a second term, calling the prospect of losing the Republican-leaning seat to a Democrat “a DISASTER for our Country.”

“Therefore, I will be fully supporting Jeff’s ReElection to the House of Representatives, giving him my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump said. “Every true MAGA supporter and Republican, if they truly care about saving our Country, will do everything in their power to unify together, and defeat the Crazed Radical Left Democrats this November.”

After first endorsing Hurd last fall, Trump rescinded his support last month and formally endorsed Scheppelman, citing Hurd’s “lack of support” for the Trump administration’s tariff policy. In February, Trump characterized Hurd as a “RINO Congressman,” using a pejorative term for a “Republican in name only,” and said Hurd was “one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down.”

A month later, however, Trump said the alternative to Hurd is worse and urged Republicans to unite behind the incumbent.

Hurd welcomed the new endorsement from Trump and said he appreciated the president’s efforts to unify Republicans in the district.

“The President and I share the same goals: securing the border, American energy dominance, and helping working families,” Hurd said in a post on X. “I will continue to focus on representing Colorado’s Third District, delivering results for rural Colorado, and running a serious campaign to earn the support of voters across the district.”

Scheppelman said Friday afternoon in a written statement that she was suspending her campaign in response to Trump’s request but warned Hurd that she will run again in two years if he doesn’t do a better job supporting Trump.

“While my decision was difficult to make, I must put America First and do all I can to help ensure that the radical leaders in today’s Democrat Party do not take this seat and thereby plunge our great country into the destructive chaos we experienced during the Biden-Pelosi era,” Scheppelman said.

Hurd, she said, “now has the opportunity to correct his naive voting record and support President Trump, and our slim Republican majority in the U.S. House, in our shared battle to save the country we love. If he does not, I will run again in 2028 and defeat him in order to give the citizens of Colorado’s 3rd district, and all of America, the representation we deserve.”

Two Pitkin County Democrats are running in the district, which covers most of the Western Slope and Southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley.

Alex Kelloff, an entrepreneur and former finance executive from Old Snowmass, has been running for nearly a year, while Dwayne Romero, a Snowmass Village business owner and decorated Army combat veteran, joined the race earlier this month.

National Democrats aren’t targeting the district, which is ranked as “likely Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, but the two Democrats say that could change, noting that they’ve raised enough to make the race competitive. Kelloff’s campaign boasts that he’s raised more than $1 million and Romero’s campaign says he’s banked nearly $500,000 in just over two weeks. Both figures include some self-financing, though the amounts won’t be clear until they file campaign finance reports next month, covering the year’s first quarter.

Hurd won the seat in 2024 by a five-point margin, and Trump carried the district by just under 10 points. Before Hurd took office, the district had been represented for two terms by Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who moved across the state before the last election to run from a safer seat after coming within several hundred votes of losing reelection in 2022.

Kelloff told Colorado Politics that Trump’s switchback indicates Republicans are concerned about holding the district.

“Trump is worried we’re going to win this seat, a testament to all the work our campaign has been doing the last 11 months,” Kelloff said in a statement via text message. “Just ask yourself — are you better off today than you were when Jeff Hurd took office? I’ll always fight for the people of Colorado’s 3rd District.”

A spokesman for Romero’s campaign told Colorado Politics that the freshly minted candidate has the GOP running scared.

“Dwayne’s entry into this race has party insiders in retreat. His record as a combat veteran, West Point Grad, Airborne Ranger, Bronze Star Recipient, and small business owner — combined with his campaign’s early momentum — has made this race closer than ever,” said Romero spokesman Felix Frisch in an emailed statement. “No matter the Republican nominee in November, Dwayne will remain focused on affordability, accountability, and service-driven leadership for Western and Southern Colorado.”

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said in a statement to Colorado Politics that Hurd has made the choice easier for voters by again embracing Trump’s support.

“Jeff Hurd’s pathetic acceptance of Trump’s re-endorsement shows, again, that Republicans have no spine, no principles and will do whatever their dear leader demands of them,” Murib said in a text message.

Murib’s counterpart at the state GOP praised Scheppelman’s move in a statement.

“Hope Scheppelman has shown real commitment by putting the party first and stepping forward in the interest of unity,” Colorado Republican Party Chair Brita Horn said in a text message. “With Donald Trump reaffirming his support for Jeff Hurd, this moment gives us a clear path forward to focus on winning and advancing our shared priorities. We’re grateful for Hope’s dedication to strengthening our movement.”

Voters are set to pick the 3rd CD’s Republican and Democratic nominees in Colorado’s June 30 primary.

Kelloff and Romero are planning to vie for spots on the primary ballot at the Democrats’ March 27 congressional district assembly, while Hurd turned in petition signatures earlier this week in an attempt to secure his place in the primary. A spokesman for Hurd’s campaign said Friday that the candidate hadn’t yet decided whether to also pursue ballot designation at the party’s district assembly, which is scheduled for April 10.