Story highlights Girlfriend of ex-TV news anchor Chris Hurst killed during live TV interview

Newly elected Hurst: "Death connected me to humanity more than anything else"

(CNN) A former news anchor just elected to Virginia's House of Delegates said it was too painful to continue at a Roanoke TV station after his girlfriend's fatal shooting during a live TV broadcast.

Instead, Chris Hurst decided to pursue a state legislative seat, which he won Tuesday night.

In an interview Wednesday on CNN's "New Day," the Democrat credited the community he once reported on for its support in the aftermath of the August 2015 tragedy when his girlfriend, Alison Parker , a reporter, and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during a live TV interview for WDBJ.

Hurst told anchor Chris Cuomo, "I remember very vividly when I met you. I met you outside of our television station the day after Alison was killed. I told people since and I'll tell you and your viewers now that Alison and Adam Ward's death connected me to humanity more than anything else."

Hurst said the deaths had given him "a shared experience and a common bond with so many people who have gone through tragedy, who have gone through loss, and now, unfortunately, as we have seen in recent events, have also gone through the tragedy and horror of losing a loved one through gun violence. But it connected me to my community, it galvanized me to my community."

Read More