Chris Hurst
Chris Hurst (Democratic Party) was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 12. He assumed office in 2018. He left office on January 12, 2022.
Hurst (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 12. He lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Biography
Hurst received his B.A. in broadcast journalism from Emerson College. His professional experiences includes working in journalism. He has served as the evening anchor for WDBJ7 Roanoke. In 2015, Hurst's girlfriend Alison Parker, a correspondent for WDBJ7 Roanoke, was shot and killed while reporting live on television from Moneta, Virginia. Her cameraman Adam Ward was also killed.[1] Hurst cited Parker's death as a reason for his run for office.[2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020-2021
Hurst was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Hurst was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2021
See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2021
General election
General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 12
Jason Ballard defeated incumbent Chris Hurst in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 12 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jason Ballard (R) | 55.1 | 13,871 |
 | Chris Hurst (D) | 44.6 | 11,224 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 88 | ||
| Total votes: 25,183 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Chris Hurst advanced from the Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 12.
Republican convention
The Republican convention was canceled. Jason Ballard advanced from the Republican convention for Virginia House of Delegates District 12.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Larry Linkous (R)
Campaign finance
2019
See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019
General election
General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 12
Incumbent Chris Hurst defeated T. Forrest Hite in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 12 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hurst (D) | 53.6 | 11,135 |
| T. Forrest Hite (R) | 46.4 | 9,643 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 11 | ||
| Total votes: 20,789 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
General election
Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for primary election candidates was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for non-party candidates and candidates nominated by methods other than a primary was June 13, 2017.[3] Chris Hurst (D) defeated incumbent Joseph Yost (R) in the Virginia House of Delegates District 12 general election.[4]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 12 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Chris Hurst |
54.44% | 12,495 | |
| Republican | Joseph Yost Incumbent | 45.56% | 10,458 | |
| Total Votes | 22,953 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections | ||||
Races we watched
Ballotpedia identified 13 races to watch in the Virginia House of Delegates 2017 elections: four Democratic seats and nine Republican seats. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
This was a district that received media attention. In this race, incumbent Republican Joseph Yost was challenged by Chris Hurst (D). Hurst formerly served as the evening anchor for WDBJ7 Roanoke. In 2015, Hurst's girlfriend, Alison Parker, a correspondent for WDBJ7 Roanoke, was shot and killed while reporting live on television from Moneta, Virginia. Her cameraman Adam Ward was also killed. Hurst cited Parker's death as a reason for his run for office.[5]
Yost won the seat by 16.8 points in 2015. District 12 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 12 by 2.9 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 4.1 points. As of 2017, District 12 covered Giles County and parts of Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
Democratic primary election
Chris Hurst ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 12 Democratic primary.[6]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 12 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Chris Hurst | ||
Republican primary election
Incumbent Joseph Yost ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 12 Republican primary.[7]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 12 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Joseph Yost Incumbent | ||
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Hurst did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Chris Hurst did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Hurst’s campaign website highlighted the following issues:[8]
| “ |
Education: Attract The Best Teachers To Our Schools: Virginia is ranked 29th in the country in average teacher pay. That’s not acceptable. Teachers in Virginia earn, on average, about $7,000 less than other educators around the country. But it’s worse in the 12th District; teachers in Giles County make about $10,000 less than just the state average. Reduce the Burden of Standardized Testing:
Virginia has improved the way our teachers, schools, and students are evaluated but there is still more work to be done. Study after study has shown that Virginia’s method of testing our students is inadequate. Any universal testing should be done to track the growth of students. As your Delegate, I will fight to give freedom back to school divisions while still ensuring success for all students. Women’s Healthcare: I am a journalist. Not a doctor. Any decisions regarding women and their health care need to be made by the woman, in consultation with her family if she chooses, and her doctor. These decisions shouldn’t be made by lawmakers in Richmond. Fight the Opioid Crisis: The opioid crisis is a battle that’s become all too familiar for our District, with too many lives already lost. We must expand access to life-saving treatment options and medications. We have to change the stigma around substance-use disorders and address the crisis as an illness, not just a series of poor choices. Mental Health: Expanding Medicaid would directly impact and increase access to mental healthcare in Virginia. In addition, we need to give our police officers, sheriff’s deputies, fire departments and rescue squads the training and resources they need to handle mental health crises. Rural communities like ours face especially tough circumstances. Individuals in crisis are often transferred to treatment centers on the opposite side of the Commonwealth on their own dime. We must fundamentally change the way we view and treat mental illness. Virginia has to address the lack of rural mental health care providers and reinvest in support for our state hospitals. Reduce Gun Violence:
We must change the way we address the thousands of Virginians who die each year by bullets from guns. I think we do that by realizing this is a public health crisis because more people in the commonwealth die from gun violence than in car crashes. My focus remains on those most susceptible to homicide and suicide from firearms. 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. As someone who has been personally touched by this issue, I will take the same objective, pragmatic approach to investigating solutions as I had when I worked as a journalist. Access to Broadband:
There are many parts of the district where access to broadband internet is limited or nonexistent. In our digital world, the Commonwealth is doing all of us a disservice by not investing in the infrastructure and technology to bring broadband access to rural communities. By partnering with new businesses who are doing this great work day in and day out, I hope we can finally solve this problem for Southwest Virginia. Transforming Our Energy Sources: For too long, our representatives in Richmond have stalled the transformation of how we power our homes and businesses. By removing restrictions on how Virginians get our energy, we can bring more investments in renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal. We must increase diversity and competition in our energy mix to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and lower utility bills. [9] |
” |
Endorsements
2017
In 2017, Hurst’s endorsements included the following:
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021
In 2021, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to February 8.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the organization chose to evaluate.
- Legislators are scored based on their voting record on reproductive issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored by the Family Foundation on their votes on bills related to "principles of life, marriage, parental authority, constitutional government and religious liberty."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 12. A special session was held from August 18 to November 9.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through February 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly was in session from January 10 through March 10. Special sessions were held from April 11 to May 30 and from August 30 to October 30.
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See also
2021 Elections
External links
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Candidate Virginia House of Delegates District 12 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ NBC, "WDBJ7 Reporter Alison Parker, Photographer Adam Ward Killed on Live TV," August 26, 2015
- ↑ hurst4delegate.com, "About," accessed August 9, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements for the November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Washington Post, "In a polarized Virginia district, differences between the Republican and the Democrat may surprise you," August 24, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Democratic Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 June Republican Primary," accessed July 6, 2017
- ↑ hurst4delegate.com, "The Issues," accessed August 9, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ NARAL, "2017 Endorsed House Candidates," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ Washington Post, "Democratic group endorses seven candidates under age 35 in Virginia delegate races," June 27, 2017
- ↑ People for the American Way, "Next Up Victory Fund Endorses in Virginia," August 29, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Virginia House of Delegates District 12 2018–2022 |
Succeeded by Jason Ballard (R) |
