Wow. Local newscaster Chris Hurst, whose girlfriend, reporter Alison Parker, was murdered live on air by a gunman two years ago, has announced that he’s running for a seat in Virginia’s state House this fall as a Democrat. It’s an incredibly brave move for a man whose life was upended by an unspeakable tragedy—many of us would simply retreat from the public glare, and understandably so. But Hurst is running in the hopes that he can prevent others from enduring a similar fate:
Born and raised near Philadelphia, Hurst has not held office before, and he knows that, because of the national attention that WDBJ and he received after the 2015 shooting, guns will be an issue in the race. [...]
Returning to the topic of guns, Hurst said that he is a gun owner who wants “a healthy discussion of where we are with firearms, and trying to reduce gun violence is the only thing that I am interested in doing. … This is not about trying to change anybody’s way of life, but we can do more and do better to reduce gun suicides and gun homicides.”
Specifically, he said that he wants to find ways to remove guns from people under emergency protective orders “until we can get them necessary help. And that’s something that in Virginia we don’t have any mechanism for.”
Hurst emphasizes, though, that he’s not a single-issue candidate, and he has his considerable body of work as a reporter to point to for issues he’s investigated and is knowledgeable about, particularly on the environment. But Hurst knows that he brings a singular prominence to the topic of guns, and his unique stature will draw an unusual amount of attention for a legislative race.
What’s more, it’s one Democrats can win. Virginia’s 12th state House District, which is represented by Republican Joseph Yost, voted for Hillary Clinton by a 48-44 margin, making it one of 17 seats in the chamber (out of 100 total) that’s held by the GOP but was carried by Clinton. That means this contest will be a top target for Team Blue, and they’ve just landed a top-tier candidate to help them flip it. We’ll be watching this one very closely.