Republican Siobhan Dunnavant, the hand-picked successor of retiring state Sen. Walter A. Stosch, won handily in Tuesday’s election for the 12th District seat.
Dunnavant, an obstetrician-gynecologist from western Henrico County, was declared the winner after jumping to a sizable lead against Democratic challenger Deborah M. Repp, a retired registered nurse who owned a geriatric care business. Independent Robert “Scott” Johnson ran a distant third.
The 12th District covers the western halves of Henrico and Hanover counties.
“I’m humbled and thrilled and honored to represent the 12th,” said Dunnavant, 51. “I’m really excited to shift gears from campaigning to serving and see if I can’t go out there and find some solutions.”
Dunnavant, who started a company with her husband that provides obstetrics staff to hospitals during off-peak hours, opposes Medicaid expansion in Virginia under the Affordable Care Act. She has said she favors private business strategies to reduce insurance costs and a state-based solution to address the gaps in coverage for thousands of uninsured Virginians that Medicaid expansion would address.
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In the heavily Republican district, Dunnavant was encouraged into her first run for public office by Stosch, the retiring moderate who has held the seat since 1992.
She carried a hefty fundraising lead into Tuesday night, collecting more than $500,000 in contributions while Repp failed to reach $100,000.
Dunnavant said she is traveling today to see her son graduate from Army Basic Training, then plans to spend most of her time studying before joining the General Assembly.
“I want to learn everything I can learn about the important issues, including education and health care, so I can find solutions that are going to work and avoid unintended consequences,” Dunnavant said. “It’s going to be staying on that learning curve. That’s what I’ve been doing all summer.”