Meet SD NYC 2021 Candidate Chris Hurst!
Image description: A photo of SD NYC 2021 candidate Chris Hurst, a smiling white man with a round face and close-cropped strawberry blond hair. He is standing in the middle of a green field with the rolling hills of Virginia behind him. He is wearing a black, white, and blue check button down shirt.
Meet Chris Hurst...incumbent in the 2021 Virginia legislative race
Chris is one of the legislators contributing to the winning trifecta of Democratic candidates elected in Virginia in the last 4 years. Having this majority, comments Chris, “allowed a huge amount of progressive legislation to be passed in a short amount of time.” It’s amazing what can be done in 4 years with the right people in place.
Among those accomplishments are:
abolishing the death penalty,
expanding Amtrak service to open up rural markets in Virginia,
expanding Broadband service in the state
raising the minimum wage
According to Chris, the district he represents in rural Virginia is unique in having two large college campuses within its borders. His district includes the Democratic strongholds around the campuses and the Republican leaning rural areas. Juggling the needs of both groups has been a challenge that Chris has managed very successfully. He credits success to “outworking everyone in execution [of my legislation].”
During his first term, he had 15 bills signed into law. They dealt with the things that he is passionate about:
Health Care
Expanded insurance coverage, supported frontline workers during COVID, established and expanded nurse/midwife programs
Children and Families
Focused on food assistance, voting rights, aging services, tenants rights, unemployment compensation, overtime pay, child support
Schools
Dispensing medication to children who need it, food assistance to low income families
Chris pays special attention to the two college campuses: they want progressive legislators. He has advocated for more moderate tuition; information about the full cost of classes (books, lab fees, etc.) in course catalogs; and college journalists' press freedom. In return, students enthusiastically join his campaign, performing much of the groundwork: making calls, knocking on doors, passing out voting information. Having a presence here is very important. These students will be the next generation of progressive office holders.
Chris’s challenger is a candidate picked by the Virginia Republican organization. They’ll run his campaign and he’ll run on the party line. He campaigned with people who marched on the Capitol on January 6th, proving he cares more about winning extremist votes than leading everyone in the district.
It’s important for Chris to continue to be part of the winning Democratic majority in the Virginia legislature. He needs to win this election.for the people of the 12th District and for the Virginia Democratic trifecta. We at Sister District are delighted to be working with Chris to make that trifecta happens. Whether it’s making phone calls on his behalf or raising funds, Sister District NYC is proud to stand behind him.