It looks like it was a rout! Rebublicans win handily in the 38th
Precincts Reporting: 108 of 109 (99.08%)
Ben Chafin (R)WINNER 17,215 59.11%
Mike Hymes (D) 9,400 32.27%
Rick Mullins (I) 2,499 8.58%
Write In 12 0.04%
Looks a lot like Mathews County where I live. What is there to say? No contest. Read on below.
From the Associated Press 7:41 p.m. EDT August 17, 2014
Big money, sharp elbows in special Va. senate election
Chafin accused Hymes of running a negative campaign based on the “politics of fear” to deflect from the Democratic Party’s unpopularity in the area. One Chafin television ad’s tagline says Hymes is “just like Obama.”
In particular, Chafin said Hymes’ support of a modified Medicaid expansion plan is out of touch with the view of the constituents. The Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied low-income adults, an option Virginia has so far rejected.
Hymes, a member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, said he’s a conservative who often differs from his party leaders on several issues. Chafin has misrepresented his positions on gun control, coal taxes, and the Affordable Care Act. Hymes said he supports a modified Medicaid expansion plan that had bipartisan support in the state Senate earlier this year.
“It’s a Virginia solution, not a Washington solution,” Hymes said.
Medicaid expansion was the central issue during a months-long budget showdown between Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the GOP-controlled House of Delegates. Republicans prevailed after the 38th District’s most recent senator, conservative Democrat Phil Puckett, abruptly resigned in June. The move gave Republicans control of the entire General Assembly and ultimately forced McAuliffe to sign a state budget that did not include Medicaid expansion.
A possible job offer to Puckett by the GOP-controlled Virginia tobacco commission at the time of his resignation is the subject of an FBI investigation.