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News Desk: State Sen. A. Benton Chafin Jr., a southwest Virginia cattle farmer and lawyer who broke with fellow Republicans to expand Medicaid in 2018, died Friday at VCU Medical Center of covid-19.<\/p>\nNews Desk: State Sen. A. Benton Chafin Jr., a southwest Virginia cattle farmer and lawyer who broke with fellow Republicans to expand Medicaid in 2018, died Friday at VCU Medical Center of covid-19.<\/p>\n
A senator since 2014, Chafin, 60, had been hospitalized for about two weeks with the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouthwest Virginia has lost a strong advocate \u2014 and we have all lost a good man,\u201d Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said in a written statement. \u201cHe pushed hard to bring jobs and investment to his district, and I will always be grateful for his courageous vote to expand health care for people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northam ordered state flags lowered in his honor.<\/p>\n
Chafin (Russell) was among a handful of Senate Republicans who agreed to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2018.<\/p>\n
Blocking expansion of the law also known as Obamacare had long been a rallying cry for the legislature\u2019s conservatives, but Chafin said it would provide desperately needed health care in his coal country district, among the poorest in the state.<\/p>\n
Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) said the Senate Republican Caucus was in mourning. Members extended condolences to Chafin\u2019s mother, wife, three children, grandchildren and sister, state Supreme Court Justice Teresa M. Chafin.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a treasured friend, unrelentingly cheerful with an infectious smile and gregarious manner,\u201d Norment said.<\/p>\n
House of Delegates Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said in a statement that Chafin\u2019s \u201ccommitment to the people of Southwest Virginia was unyielding. He was a fierce advocate for not only his region, but our entire Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Senate Democratic Caucus praised his \u201ccompassion, strength, and thoughtfulness.\u201d Members of the Legislative Black Caucus praised him as \u201ca well-respected legislator and a tireless advocate for his constituents in Southwest Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Known as \u201cBen,\u201d Augustus Benton Chafin Jr. grew up working on his family\u2019s Russell County farm.<\/p>\n
As a teenager, he had a part-time job at a local meatpacking plant, according to a biography posted on his campaign website. He and his sister were the first members of their family to attend college.<\/p>\n
Chafin earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from East Tennessee State University, a school close enough to home that he could \u201cfulfill his obligations to the family farm by returning home most weekends,\u201d his biography said.<\/p>\n
After graduating from the University of Richmond School of Law, Chafin returned to Russell County to practice law.<\/p>\n
He was a longtime board member of the First Bank and Trust, which his father helped establish.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the little brother I never had and like his late father, he was fair, wise and dedicated to the tasks at hand,\u201d said Frank Kilgore, Chafin\u2019s brother-in-law.<\/p>\n
Chafin was elected to the House of Delegates in November 2013 and moved to the Senate nine months later, winning a special election for the seat that Democrat Phillip P. Puckett (Russell) abruptly resigned from in summer 2014.<\/p>\n
Sen. Todd E. Pillion (R-Washington), who also hails from the state\u2019s rural southwest, called Chafin a \u201ctrue Virginia gentleman\u201d and a \u201cresounding voice for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: \u00a0The Washington Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Desk: State Sen. A. Benton Chafin Jr., a southwest Virginia cattle farmer and lawyer who broke with fellow Republicans to expand Medicaid in 2018, died Friday at VCU Medical Center of covid-19. A senator since 2014, Chafin, 60, had been hospitalized for about two weeks with the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. \u201cSouthwest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":65393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n