A special election to choose the next Virginia state senator for the 38th district, of which the City of Radford is a part, is set for Tuesday, Mar. 23, with early voting in place until Saturday, Mar. 20.
The special election is to fill the remainder of term of the late Senator Ben Chafin, who died Jan. 1 from COVID-19. Laurie Buchwald, a Radford nurse practitioner and former Radford City Council member, is facing Republican candidate Travis Hackworth of Tazewell County in the election.
Hackworth, a Tazewell County residential and commercial builder, won the Republican nomination for the seat after a primary that included six candidates.
Buchwald served on Radford City Council from 2002-2010 before opting not to run for a third term. She later ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates against Joseph Yost before turning her efforts toward encouraging women to run for public office with successful results.
The 38th district includes Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Pulaski, Russell and Tazewell counties, the cities of Norton and Radford, and portions of Montgomery, Smyth, and Wise counties.
