RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The father of a Virginia journalist fatally shot during a live broadcast in 2015 has conceded that he failed to make the ballot in the Democratic nomination contest for the 5th Congressional District.
Andy Parker, who announced in January that he would seek to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. Bob Good, said in a statement Monday that he would instead throw his support to Democratic nominee Josh Throneburg.
“I was looking forward to a spirited primary and campaign against Good this fall, but to my great disappointment our campaign did not meet the technical requirements to be on the primary ballot. I want to thank the thousands of Virginians and supporters across America who stood with me,” Parker said.
Since the death of his daughter Alison, a 24-year-old reporter at Roanoke’s WDBJ-TV who was killed by a former colleague during an interview, Parker has pushed for gun-control measures. He’s also battled with Facebook for allowing the video of his daughter’s slaying to circulate.
Parker’s campaign told WDBJ last week that it was reviewing its petition signatures after being informed that the 5th District Committee was able to verify only 937 of the 1,000 required.
Alison Parker’s death also prompted her boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, to run for the General Assembly in 2017. Hurst, a Democrat, quit his TV job and served two terms in the House of Delegates before being unseated by a Republican last November.
Good, an ultraconservative first-term Republican closely allied with former President Donald Trump, faces a challenger for the Republican nomination: Dan Moy. The nomination will be settled in a convention next month.
Central Virginia’s newly redrawn 5th Congressional District leans strongly Republican.