Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford)
Apparently, Medicaid expansion was front and center in this race, and the voters of the (admittedly GOP-leaning) 100th district were having none of it. The Speaker’s statement is below:
RICHMOND, VA – Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) issued the following statement Tuesday on Rob Bloxom’s victory in the 100th House District Special Election:
“Tonight, citizens of Virginia spoke loud and clear. They overwhelmingly elected Rob Bloxom as Delegate in Virginia’s 100th District and adamantly rejected ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion in Virginia.
“I congratulate Rob and his team on their victory. They ran a strong campaign focused on the issues that matter to Virginians. Rob will be a tremendous Delegate for the people of Eastern Virginia, and I look forward to having him on the team. He will get straight to work in the House of Delegates.
“Rob’s opponent proudly and vocally ran on President Obama’s agenda, ObamaCare and implementing Medicaid expansion in Virginia. The citizens of the 100th House District made it absolutely clear tonight that they oppose ObamaCare and ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion.
“Governor McAuliffe and General Assembly Democrats have wrongly injected Medicaid expansion into the budget debate. Because they know Medicaid expansion does not stand on its merits, they have decided to use the budget as a bargaining chip in order to implement ObamaCare in Virginia. The results tonight show that Virginians think that is wrong.
“Governor McAuliffe and General Assembly Democrats should stop using the budget as a bargaining chip, drop their demands for Medicaid expansion and let Virginia pass a clean budget bill.”
