HENRY COUNTY, Va. — Henry County resident Andy Parker will seek the Democratic nomination for the 5th District Congressional seat in Virginia.
Parker announced his candidacy on Thursday. If he receives the nomination, Parker will run against conservative Republican incumbent Rep. Bob Good, who is completing his first term in office.
Parker is the father of a Virginia journalist who was fatally shot during a live broadcast in 2015.
Parker said he will have a running mate in the race — his daughter, Alison, a reporter at Roanoke’s WDBJ-TV who was killed by a former colleague during an interview at Smith Mountain Lake.
“She’ll be with me every step of the way,” he said of his 24-year-old daughter.
Parker, 68, has taken up other political battles since his daughter’s death, pushing for gun-control measures and fighting Facebook for allowing the video of his daughter’s slaying to circulate.
Parker lives in Henry County, just outside the new district. Congressional candidates do not have to live within the district they represent. But he notes that he’s 10 miles from the district and has lived there for 25 years.
Four Democrats also have declared their candidacy for the 5th District nomination: Shadi Ayyas, Lewis Combs, Warren McLellan and Josh Throneburg.
Good faces a challenger for the Republican nomination: Dan Moy.