Early voting in the June 17 primary begins May 2. For information on who’s running and election deadlines, see our Voter Guide.
The singular Republican incumbent to see a primary challenger in this year’s House of Delegates races is an unexpected one, according to one lawmaker.
Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, said that Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, was the last person that he and other members of the General Assembly expected to see a primary challenge in June.
Pillion added that, regardless of the incumbent, the primary challenge is evidence that General Assembly seats don’t belong to the lawmakers: they belong to the people that the lawmakers represent.
“Everyone has the opportunity to step forward and run for these positions, but it’s up to the voters to recognize the value of people, like Terry Austin who has been elected to the position, that have been fantastic elected officials,” Pillion said.
In 2013, Austin won election to the House with 70% of the vote over his Democratic challenger, Lewis Bain Medlin Jr., after he defeated his primary opponents handily in a four-way race earlier that year. He had served on the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors for 16 years and on the county’s planning commission for four years prior to his time in the General Assembly.
“It was a day of torrential rains and flooding and it was a horrible day for a primary but people were lined up just about all the way around Botetourt High School to vote,” Austin said. “I really liked local government and I had no ambitions to go to the state legislature.”
After his first term, Austin decided to run again for the House of Delegates seat after he determined that “about 99%” of the lawmakers in the General Assembly are there for what he called “the right reasons:” to better the quality of life for the people of Virginia. He has been reelected five times since then, without a primary challenger until this year. He is now the senior Republican on House Transportation and one of a handful of legislators who negotiate the final version of the budget.
“The longer you serve, the more people are going to think that maybe you’re not doing what they want or they’re not satisfied with your performance,” Austin said of this year’s primary challenge. “And so, they decide they can do better, or they know a friend who can do better and I think that’s exactly what happened here, and that’s OK too.”
Meet Austin’s challenger: Austen Schwend
Austen Schwend was mending the fence that kept his pigs penned in when he decided to take a more hands-on approach to politics.
It was a frigid winter day on the farm he started with his family in Botetourt County during the COVID pandemic in an effort to alleviate concerns they had about the supply chain. With snow swirling around him and pigs at his feet, he decided that it was time for him to get his hands dirty.
“I was literally outside in a blizzard … actually pushing pigs out of the way to try to fix the fence,” he said. “It was one of many situations where I have stepped back and looked at the situation and said, ‘I feel like I’m having to do all of this because politicians keep making bad decisions.’”
Schwend is a business owner, engineer and farmer. He formally announced his bid for the seat held by Austin during a Republican committee meeting when acquaintances, who had initially signaled their intent to primary Austin, backed out, Schwend said. He declined to name those acquaintances.
“People were standing up to give their candidate speeches, and it came down to that moment … nobody stood up to give a speech for House of Delegates and it was like, ‘Well, I guess we have to do it,’” Schwend said. And so, he stood up.
His platform issues include efforts to promote transparency in government and K-12 education spending, to lower energy costs while taking a stance against “green energy projects” and to lower taxes.
Schwend pointed out that Austin’s largest campaign donor is an energy company and that there is a proposal for a commercial wind farm in Botetourt, which would be the state’s first, that Austin has supported since his time as a member on the county board. Austin’s largest campaign donor is Dominion Energy, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
“The fact that Dominion has given me money has nothing to do with my support of any project,” Austin said. “I base my decision on… the merits and value of that legislation.”
He added that Virginia is the largest purchaser of imported power out of any state in the U.S., and that importing energy from out of state could cause rate increases. And, he argued, that it is the right of the landowner, following approval of the local government, to build a wind farm on private property.
“I’ve voted for it every time it came before me, because I think we have to support, in today’s world, any and all forms of alternative energy,” he said.
Nearly 12 years of legislative action
Austin has represented the 37th House District since 2014. The district is considered a solidly Republican seat and comprises Alleghany, Botetourt and Craig counties, part of Rockbridge County, and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington and Lexington.
A conservative Republican, Austin has worked with his colleagues across the aisle to pass balanced budgets through multiple cycles as a conferee, but he has remained steadfast in his values and has voted with his party on many hot-button issues over his nearly 12 years in office.
Outside of partisan issues, Austin has championed economic development in Southwest Virginia and transportation to, through and around the region during his time in office. Five of the six bills he introduced during the 2025 legislative session passed the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Pillion called Austin a dear friend and noted that the delegate has been crucial in securing funding for a number of projects in the region, including money for Interstate 81 upkeep and an increase in funding to the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. He noted that Austin has remained at the forefront of economic and transportation development projects that have taken place along the interstate.
“They’re so important not only to his district but to the entire commonwealth for transportation, movement of goods up and down the interstate system,” Pillion said.
He noted that he and Austin have worked together on a number of different projects, including one to ensure that Amtrak continues to move through Southwest Virginia.
Schwend’s previous experience with the legislative process
Schwend got involved with the creation of a bill, HB 1323, introduced during the 2018 legislative session to allow the use of military surplus vehicles by civilians on roads, after he purchased a military surplus Humvee at an auction.
Before he purchased the vehicle, he was told by the state police and the department of motor vehicles that it was okay to drive on roadways, he said. But six months later, after he purchased the vehicle and rebuilt it for road use, he was told by the DMV that it would be allowed only for off-road use, he said. So he lobbied lawmakers to introduce HB 1323.
The final text of the bill was different from Schwend’s intention, which frustrated him, he said.
“I want people to have a better understanding of what’s going on,” he said. “I want somebody in there that’s both visionary and practical and I think it’s really important to try to inspire young voters to come out more for conservative values.”
He said he hasn’t seen many creative solutions being introduced within the state government to solve problems faced by Virginians. He said he wants to be someone who would fight Democrats if elected.
“I wanted to give the voters some more conservative option,” Schwend said, and noted that he thinks there’s an appetite in the district for a more conservative lawmaker in the seat.
“This is not my seat, this is the people’s seat, so as far as me having a primary opponent, certainly I would rather not but I certainly don’t begrudge anyone of doing it,” Austin said. “I wish my opponent well and I have nothing ill to say of him.”
Here’s how the candidates answered our questionnaire:
