"Confirming what many political pundits have been assuming for months, state Senator Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, filed the paperwork Tuesday to run for Congress in 2010 against Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District.

Hurt, a lawyer and Pittsylvania County native, said he and his wife began seriously discussing the idea after former Rep. Virgil Goode opted against another run earlier this year. Hurt said he would wait to make a formal announcement of his candidacy until after the November election, but filed now “because there’s so much to get done.”

“It’s something that can be done in light of our primary commitment to being good parents,” Hurt said, “and we’re satisfied that it can be done. It won’t be easy. It needs to be done and that’s the main reason for doing it.”

As is common in Southside, Hurt said the biggest issue facing the 5th District — which stretches from Danville up to Charlottesville — is jobs. He does not support the current proposed health care or cap-and-trade legislation and pledged to “be a strong voice for our common sense conservative Virginia values.”

“We continue to struggle with an economy that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years,” he said. “…What concerns me are the polices that we’re seeing in Washington that I do not believe support the kind of job growth and prosperity that’s required in order for us to have the brighter future we deserve.”

Hurt, 40, lives in Pittsylvania County with his wife of 13 years, Kathy, and their three children, ages 10, 7 and 5. His political career began in 2000 when he was elected to the Chatham Town Council. He ran for the House of Delegates in 2001 and the state senate in 2007, where he currently represents the 19th District." (Catherine Amos, [Danville] Register & Bee, October 7, 2009)

Editor's Note: Hurt's Senate District, the Nineteenth, is comprised of the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, Franklin County and part of Campbell County.