Columbus TV station mulls next move as news anchor prepares for Congressional run

A Columbus television station is still evaluating how it will handle the news that one of its anchors has begun raising money for a run at an Alabama congressional seat currently held by an entrenched Republican.

Mallory Hagan, the 2013 Miss America and an Opelika, Ala., native, announced this week on social media that she may run for the Third Congressional District seat held by Mike Rogers.

Hagan used crowdpac.com, a crowdfunding site for politicians, to begin a fundraising campaign for the seat.

Hagan is a news anchor for WLTZ, a Columbus NBC affiliate. WLTZ General Manager Drew Rhodes said on Tuesday the station was aware of Hagan’s potential political candidacy, but was not prepared to say how the station would handle it.

Tuesday was Hagan’s day off and Rhodes said he has not yet met with her to discuss the recent developments.

“Until we can meet face to face, I can’t say what we are going to do,” Rhodes said.

Hagan was on the air Monday night at 11 after her fundraising effort had began.

As of mid afternoon Tuesday, Hagan had raised more than $8,400 toward a $10,000 goal. She had 145 people contribute to the effort.

When asked about the campaign contributions that have come in a two-day span, Rhodes joked, “I should have put her in sales.”

If the crowdpac.com fundraising effort is any indication, Hagan seems serious about the political run.

“I want to represent the people of the state because I want to be a voice for Alabamians that is clear and strong,” Hagan wrote on the page.

Though the page does not list a party affiliation, Rhodes said Hagan was a Democrat. The district takes up a large part of east Alabama and includes Lee and Russell counties.

“Even the most prosperous parts of the district face serious challenges,” Hagan wrote on her fundraising page. “In Auburn — where 28,000 students reside in a town known as the loveliest village on the plains — almost 50 percent of all single mothers struggle financially to care for their children. And although my hometown Opelika has overcome significant economic and social challenges in recent years, today less than 34 percent of its K-12 students are proficient in reading.

“These are only a few of the difficult stories you will hear in communities throughout this district. From Beauregard to Sylacauga, ...”

If she runs, Hagan will be attempting to unseat Rogers, an Anniston Republican. Rogers has represented the right-leaning Alabama Third District since 2002.

Tuesday afternoon a call to Hagan’s cellphone went unanswered. She did not respond to a request for comment on Twitter.

In December, Hagan was at the center of a Miss America controversy that led to the resignations of several of the organization’s top leaders. The Huffinton Post, based on a trove of leaked emails, catapulted Hagan back into the national spotlight as a victim of alleged slut-shaming, fat-shaming and targeted retaliation from executives at the Miss America Organization, including, most notably, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell. In the wake of the report, Haskell resigned.

Rhodes has been impressed with Hagan as she has worked for the Columbus television station.

“I think that Mallory is a very smart, very intelligent woman,” Rhodes said. “And to reach the title of Miss America, you have to have talent. When she makes up her mind to do something, you better watch out. She doesn’t blink.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Columbus TV station mulls next move as news anchor prepares for Congressional run."