*By Christian Smith*
Chris Hurst was a news anchor in Roanoke, Va., in 2015 when his girlfriend, fellow journalist Alison Parker, was shot and killed live on-air. That defining tragedy launched Hurst's career in politics, taking him to the Virginia General Assembly.
"I knew that I needed to leave the television station, but I didn't want to leave southwest Virginia," The Democratic Virginia State Delegate said Friday in an interview on Cheddar. "I had spent 10 years here as a journalist and felt like it was a natural progression to ー instead of just reporting on the problems we see out there every day ー to actually try to come up with some of the solutions as a public servant."
The issue closest to his heart is gun control. But Hurst said he needs to have an "objective, almost journalistic approach" to the issue if he wants to get policy changed.
"It needs to be evidence-based and data driven if you're going to try and get a policy implemented," he said.
Hurst said that philosophy convinced voters to choose him over incumbent Republican Delegate Joseph Yost in Virginia's conservative-leaning 12th District in 2017.
Hurst's path to politics is the focus of NowThis's new documentary "Virginia 12th," which he hopes serves as a thank you to the volunteers who propelled his campaign to victory.
"For me it's really a tribute to all of the people who came out in support of my campaign by knocking on doors and making phone calls, and in particular college students," he said.
"Virginia 12th" is currently available on the NowThis YouTube channel.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/new-documentary-virginia-12th-tells-story-of-chris-hursts-path-to-politics-after-tragedy-struck).
After President Joe Biden’s inauguration went off with only a handful of minor arrests and incidents, more than 15,000 National Guard members are preparing to leave Washington, D.C., and head home.
President Joe Biden is putting into play his national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing, reopen schools and businesses, and increase the use of masks.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, talked to Cheddar about why he believes that former President Trump deserves harsh punishment in connection to the Capitol Hill riots on January 6.
Janet Yellen, set to become the first female treasury secretary, spoke before the Senate Finance Committee and laid out her case for aggressive fiscal action in the months ahead.
President Joe Biden’s top adviser on the pandemic says the United States will again fund the World Health Organization and join its consortium aimed at sharing coronavirus vaccines fairly around the globe.
In his first address as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden drove home the message that his administration will be one of unity and healing.
President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders from the Oval Office hours after his inauguration.
The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine.
The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has suspended work on the pipeline in in anticipation of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden revoking its permit.
Joe Biden swears the oath of office to become the 46th president of the United States, taking the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.
