Ex-RT anchor who quit live on air announces bid for Texas GOP lawmaker’s seat

Former RT anchor Liz Wahl announced Thursday that she is planning to run as a Democrat against Texas Rep. Will Hurd (R), who won reelection in November to a third term.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Wahl explained that Texas’ 23rd district needed a representative who would serve as a check against President Trump’s agenda, and added that she was worried about America’s standing in the world under a Trump administration.

{mosads}Wahl went on to explain in an accompanying CrowdPac fundraising post that she would support issues such as greater funding to public education and fighting man-made climate change if elected in 2020.

“Now more than ever, we need leadership that will have the courage to stand for truth and take bold steps toward healing the country and rebuilding our standing in the world,” Wahl wrote in the post.

“My experience has taught me that no matter your background, a single person that has the courage to speak up when it matters can make an enormous impact,” she continued.

Hurd, who has not yet filed for reelection in 2020, won his district in 2018 by just half a percentage point after facing a strong challenge from Gina Ortiz Jones (D).

Wahl made headlines in 2014 when she quit her hosting job at the Russian-owned news network on air, while denouncing Russia’s involvement in Crimea, which voted to secede from Ukraine and is currently occupied by Russian-aligned forces.

“I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin. I’m proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth, and that is why, after this newscast, I’m resigning,” Wahl said during a March broadcast that year.

The news network, which was forced to register in 2017 as a foreign agent, denounced her resignation at the time as a PR stunt.

“When a journalist disagrees with the editorial position of his or her organization, the usual course of action is to address those grievances with the editor, and, if they cannot be resolved, to quit like a professional. But when someone makes a big public show of a personal decision, it is nothing more than a self-promotional stunt,” the network said in 2014.