Man whose journalist girlfriend was shot live on air wins Va. statehouse bid

Chris Hurst, a former Roanoke news anchor whose journalist girlfriend was killed during a live broadcast, won his race for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

Hurst defeated three-term incumbent Del. Joseph Yost, a Republican, on Tuesday night, after a hotly contested race.

Hurst’s girlfriend Alison Parker and a cameraman were shot and killed by a former co-worker during a live broadcast in 2015 — a tragedy that Hurst recounted often on the campaign trail. 

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He left Roanoke for Blacksburg, Va., earlier this year to run for Yost’s seat, and has been living off his savings while campaigning. 

Hurst’s connection to the tragedy helped him build a national profile and attract donations from outside the state, according to The Roanoke Times. Both Hurst and Yost spent more than $1 million on their statehouse campaigns. 

On the campaign trail, Hurst mostly talked about education, health care and the environment, according to the AP, though he did win the support from gun-control groups.