A Roseburg man known for helping to stop a terrorist attack on a French train announced Thursday that’s running for Congress. In 2015, Alek Skarlatos and several others helped take down a gunman on a high speed train headed for Paris. The incident propelled him to worldwide fame, and landed him a slot on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars.”
More recently, the former National Guardsman has turned to politics, losing a bid last year to serve on the Douglas County Board of Commissioners.
Skarlatos is running as a Republican in Oregon's Fourth Congressional District, which includes Eugene, Corvallis, and much of southwest Oregon. He'll face an unknown number of opponents in the Republican primary, although the field is likely to include perennial GOP candidate Art Robinson, the former chair of the Oregon Republican Party.
Democrats have a significant registration edge over Republicans in the Fourth District, although non-affiliated voters narrowly outnumber Democrats. The incumbent is Democrat Peter DeFazio, who has served in the U.S. House since 1987.
