Voters in the newly drawn House of Delegates district in western Roanoke County, eastern Montgomery County and Blacksburg will have some choices.
On Tuesday, James Harder of Blacksburg announced he’s running for the seat. Harder was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for a House seat in 2013. Earlier, Lily Franklin announced she would seek the Democratic nomination.
There are already two candidates seeking the Republican nomination — Chris Obenshain and Lowell Bowman.
Harder works at Virginia Tech managing economic development grants in Virginia Tech’s Department of Computer Science. Currently, he is the Director of CS/root, a tech-focused entrepreneurship hub that directs economic development grants that encourage technology focused startups in Southwest Virginia.
Franklin worked for Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke for five years, eventually becoming Chief of Staff in both his Roanoke and Richmond offices during the legislative sessions.
Obenshain is an attorney in Blacksburg.
Bowman runs Bowman-Griffin General Contractors, LLC.
The 41st House District has no incumbent.
