Buttigieg's Norfolk visit elevate's Hernandez' bid for House of Delegates

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg appeared in Norfolk yesterday at a canvas launch for Phil Hernandez, a candidate for Delegate in Virginia’s 100th House District.

“So many of the key decisions that shape our everyday lives are made in state legislatures,” Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., told the crowd of about 100 supporters. “So my main purpose here is to thank you and to keep that energy up through election day — because so much is on the line.”

“Mayor Pete knows the power of local government and state government as a way to make change and lift up families in every community,” Hernandez said. “So go tell your friends, tell your family, what’s at stake this year.”

In his remarks, Hernandez said he entered the race to make sure everyone in the 100th District feels seen, heard and valued. He said he’s knocked on thousands of doors since launching his campaign. Through his conversations with voters, he said his “sense is that people are not asking for all that much — they’re asking for the basics that they need to succeed, and for their families to thrive.”

Hernandez, the Democratic nominee for the House of Delegates, is a first-time candidate locked in a tight race against Republican incumbent Rob Bloxom, who narrowly held onto his seat in the 2017 House of Delegates elections.

He previously served as a senior policy analyst in President Barack Obama’s White House Domestic Policy Council. His House of Delegates campaign has focused on issues of civil rights and worker’s rights.