*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).
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell slightly to 787,000, evidence of a job market stumbling in the face of the viral pandemic and the damage it has inflicted on the economy for nearly 10 months.
Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Angry supporters of President Donald Trump have stormed the U.S. Capitol in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power.
Democrats have won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority. That's a stunning defeat for President Donald Trump in his final days in office and it dramatically improves the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda.
The U.S. Capitol locked down Wednesday with lawmakers inside as violent clashes broke out between supporters of President Donald Trump police.
President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge, as his attorney general, two people familiar with the selection process said Wednesday.
Georgia voters are set to decide the balance of power in Congress in a pair of high-stakes Senate runoff elections.
With Georgia's Senate runoff election underway, a pair of local environmental activists are spreading their message about the need to fight climate change.
SocialFlow tracked clicks per million residents on runoff-related stories in the two weeks leading up to the election, which will ultimately decide which political party will control the Senate.
California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, author of the state's Fair Food Delivery Act of 2020 bill joined Cheddar to discuss the ramifications of the legislation for both smaller restaurants and third-party delivery platforms.
