Her brother and former law partner in southwest Virginia, state Sen. A. Benton Chafin Jr. (R-Russell), abstained from voting but faced criticism earlier in the session for lobbying colleagues to pick his sister for the slot.

A graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law, Teresa Chafin, 63, has been on the bench longer than her brother has been in the Senate.

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She started on the Tazewell County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in 2002, moved up to the circuit court in 2005, and rose to the Court of Appeals in 2012. Her brother won election to the House of Delegates in 2013 and joined Richmond’s upper chamber in 2014.

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Despite the judge’s long tenure, some legislators expressed concerns about the appearance of favoritism after the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Benton Chafin had encouraged colleagues to vote for his sister. Sen. Chafin and his office declined to comment on those reports.

Legislators considered three other candidates. After three rounds of balloting in a closed-door GOP caucus meeting earlier this week, Teresa Chafin came out on top, according to two participants who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose private deliberations.

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The legislature elected Judge Clifford L. “Clay” Athey to succeed Chafin on the Court of Appeals.

Republicans, who have sought to win back suburban women who have abandoned the party in recent elections, touted Chafin’s election as a continuation of the party’s “long track record of elevating women to judgeships across the Commonwealth.”

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“Since the Republicans have controlled at least one chamber of the General Assembly in 2001, over 100 women have been elected to judgeships across the Commonwealth, including four women who have been elected to full terms on the Supreme Court of Virginia,” the statement from House and Senate leaders said.

In 2016, Republicans ousted Justice Jane Marum Roush from the high court, depriving her of the chance to serve a full 12-year term. She had received two temporary appointments from then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), while the legislature was out of session, but the House and Senate rejected his pick — a first in modern history.