Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, defeated Republican challenger Forrest Hite on Tuesday to win a second term.
Hurst was reelected to represent the 12th District in Virginia’s House of Delegates, consisting of Radford, Giles County and parts of Montgomery and Pulaski counties. Virginia Tech and Radford University are in the district.
Hurst, a former news anchor at WDBJ (Channel 7), left his job to run for office following the 2015 on-air shooting deaths of two journalists: his girlfriend, Alison Parker, and Adam Ward.
Hurst had 15 bills signed into law in his first term in the House of Delegates. He led the charge on a law related to alcohol that flips the state’s remaining “dry” localities to “wet” as a means of contributing to economic development.
The 32-year-old lawmaker worked with Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration along with House Republicans to create a funding mechanism for road work on Interstate 81. Hurst has also pushed for property rights protections and compliance with safety and environmental regulations during the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
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Hurst voted for other hotly discussed legislation, such as expanding Medicaid, increasing teacher pay and raising the legal age for tobacco use from 18 to 21.
Hurst said he’d continue working to address school funding, the opioid crisis and mental health, among other issues in the state.
Reducing gun violence has remained another of Hurst’s top issues, calling it a public health crisis.
“My focus remains on those most susceptible to homicide and suicide from firearms,” he wrote on his campaign website. “I will work to protect men and women of color in cities from dying on the streets, to help women find safety after taking the courageous move to leave a dangerous relationship and to encourage parents to make sure children don’t have unsupervised access to a gun.”
In 2017, Hurst upset incumbent Republican Joseph Yost in a contentious race that placed Hurst in the national spotlight.
Hite, 25, is a Radford resident and a data resource administrator for HeartCry Missionary Society, a nonprofit that works with indigenous missionaries around the world.
During his campaign, Hite said he’d focus on improving the economy in the New River Valley, getting better pay for teachers, opposing tax hikes and protecting gun rights.
Neither Hite nor Hurst could be reached for comment prior to press time Tuesday night.