Gail Huff Brown (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Huff; born February 9, 1962) is an American broadcast journalist. Huff most recently worked as a special correspondent and news contributor for

WWJE-DT WWJE-DT (channel 50) is a television station licensed to Derry, New Hampshire, United States, serving the Boston area as an affiliate of True Crime Network. It is owned by TelevisaUnivision alongside Marlborough, Massachusetts–licensed Univ ...

. Huff also previously worked with

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also sister to ...

, an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

station, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for several years,"Staff Bio: Gail Huff"
, WJLA-TV after seventeen years for

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue int ...

, the

affiliate in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. She is the wife of former U.S. ambassador and Senator

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

Early life and education

Huff was born in

Winterset, Iowa Winterset is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Iowa. The population was 5,353 at the time of the 2020 census. Winterset is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of actor John Wayne. History Winterset ...

, where her father was a medical doctor, an epidemiologist.Defoe, Jennifer Kain
"The Senator's Wife, Gail Huff, Goes to Washington"
, ''Southern New England Living''McGlothlen, John
"Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown has Iowa ties"
''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...

'', 21 January 2010Beaumont, Tom
"As you expected, an Iowa connection to Massachusetts Senate race"
''The Des Moines Register'', Jan 20, 2010 In 1978, her family moved to

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

. She graduated from

Waltham High School Waltham High School is a public high school located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only high school operated by Waltham Public Schools. History The current Waltham High School was constructed in 1968 and expanded in 1998 a ...

in 1980 and attended

Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in ...

, earning a

bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

in business communications. She attended graduate classes at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

before beginning her broadcast career in 1984.

Career

Huff's broadcast journalism career began with

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

-based

WNCT-TV WNCT-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Greenville, North Carolina, United States, serving Eastern North Carolina as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on South Evans ...

in 1984. In 1986, she joined

WLNE-TV WLNE-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Providence, Rhode Island area. The station is owned by Standard Media, and maintains studios in the Orms Bu ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

as a general assignment reporter. She later held the same position at

WFSB-TV WFSB (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Denise D'Ascenzo Way in Rocky ...

, in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

in 1989. All three television stations were

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

affiliates. Huff was employed as a reporter at WCVB-TV starting in 1993, working the 3–10 A.M. shift, while her daughters,

Ayla Brown Ayla Marie Brown (born July 28, 1988) is an American recording artist from Wrentham, Massachusetts and former NCAA basketball player. She was a contestant on ''American Idol'' on season 5 in 2006 and placed inside the Top 16. Shortly after the s ...

and Arianna, were growing up. During her husband's campaign, Huff stayed away from news assignments that may have affected his election prospects, and never appeared at campaign events until his victory speech on January 20, 2010. She resigned her position at WCVB-TV six months later, citing family considerations. Later that year, she took a position with

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. On February 28, 2013, she resigned from WJLA-TV, and moved with her husband, to

Rye, New Hampshire Rye is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,543 at the 2020 census. The town is home to several state parks along the Atlantic coastline. History The first settlement in New Hampshire, originally named ...

. In 2015, Huff joined NH1 News in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

as a special correspondent and news contributor. At ''NH1 News'' Huff often completed stories for ''NH1 News Investigates'', one of New Hampshire's leading investigative news teams. Huff also served as an anchor for breaking news and special reports outside of regularly scheduled newscasts for ''NH1 News''. Huff departed journalism in 2017 to support her husband in his role as U.S. ambassador.

2022 congressional campaign

In September 2021, Huff declared her candidacy for

New Hampshire's 1st congressional district New Hampshire's 1st congressional district covers parts of Southern New Hampshire and the eastern portion of the state. The district contains parts of Hillsborough, Rockingham, Merrimack, Grafton, and Belknap counties; and the entirety of ...

in the 2022 election. She identifies as a conservative Republican. Prior to running for office, Huff supported

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

. In 2021, she stated that she is "much more conservative" than her husband, and she supports former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. After filing for her congressional campaign, she was asked about her position on abortion, specifically in relation to the

Texas Heartbeat Act The Texas Heartbeat Act, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), is an act of the Texas Legislature that bans abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity, which normally occurs after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law took effect ...

, and she replied that she supports the current law in New Hampshire on abortion, which is legal during most of a pregnancy, but supports Texas's and other states' "right to pass any law they want" to restrict abortion." She said her views on abortion are similar to those of Governor

Chris Sununu Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who has served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Sununu was a member of the New Hampshire Executive Co ...

, who is pro-choice. Facing opposition in the primary campaign over abortion, Huff stated that she is a "mix of both"

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

and pro-choice. She announced that she supports overturning ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'' and that abortion rights, and the question of whether or not to ban abortions, should be decided on a state level. She released a statement saying, “I’ve made my position on abortion clear: I support state’s rights, and I especially support our law here in New Hampshire. I do not support late-term abortion, federal funding for abortion or foreign aid being used for abortion....” Following the overturning of ''Roe'', she ran an ad saying she will support abortion rights in New Hampshire. In an interview, Huff said that she supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

, but declined to answer whether she believes it should be a state issue and the Supreme Court should overturn the ''Obergefell'' decision which legalized same-sex marriage nationally. Huff has made unsubstantiated claims surrounding the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, saying that there were "a lot of irregularities."

Personal life

At one time, she hosted a parenting series on Lifetime that featured child psychologist

Penelope Leach Penelope Jane Leach (née Balchin; born 19 November 1937) is a British psychologist who researches and writes extensively on parenting issues from a child development perspective. Leach is best known for her book ''Your Baby and Child: From B ...

. Huff starred in

singer-songwriter Digney Fignus' 1984

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song "The Girl With The Curious Hand." Huff is a fitness enthusiast who in 2007 took a fitness challenge with

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

applicants. She is an avid cyclist.

References

External links

"Gail Huff's Two Lives: Scott Brown's Wife Is Also Boston TV Reporter"
''The Huffington Post'', March 22, 2010 * Fee, Gayle; Raposa, Laura
"‘Curious Hand’ of fate touches on newsgal’s past"
''The Boston Herald'', Thursday, October 15, 2009 * Shanahan, Mark; Goldstein, Meredith
"Huff is leaving Channel 5"
''The Boston Globe'', June 8, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Huff, Gail Living people American television reporters and correspondents People from Waltham, Massachusetts Spouses of Massachusetts politicians Bentley University alumni People from Rye, New Hampshire Waltham High School alumni 1962 births Women in New Hampshire politics Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections