Liz Wahl, a former TV anchor for the American branch of Russia Today, filed to seek the Democratic nomination to take on Texas GOP Rep. Will Hurd over the holidays, and she soon confirmed she was in. Wahl, who had spent two-and-a-half years at RT America, earned international attention in 2014 when she announced on the air that she was quitting from the Kremlin-funded propaganda network.
Wahl told viewers at the time that she “cannot be part of a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin,” adding, “I am proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth and that is why after this newscast I’m resigning.” The Daily Beast’s James Kirchick would write afterwards that Wahl had told him six months before that she felt morally compromised working for RT but wasn’t ready to leave, and that the network’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the final straw for her. Wahl has kept a much lower profile since then, and this appears to be her first run for office.
Texas’ 23rd District backed Hillary Clinton 50-46, and Hurd won re-election last year 49.2-48.7 against Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, a margin of just 926 votes. Ortiz Jones said in December that she was “very likely” to run again.