“Southwest Virginia has lost a strong advocate — and we have all lost a good man,” Gov. Chafin (Russell) was among a handful of Senate Republicans who agreed to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2018. Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) said the Senate Republican Caucus was in mourning. Members extended condolences to Chafin’s mother, wife, three children, grandchildren and sister, state Supreme Court Justice Teresa M. Chafin. House of Delegates Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said in a statement that Chafin’s “commitment to the people of Southwest Virginia was unyielding.

Source: Washington Post January 02, 2021 03:56 UTC