Charleston native and Republican Chapin Rose was victorious in the race for state representative in the 110th district Tuesday night and looks forward to adding his enthusiasm to the state house.

At age 28, Rose said he is a part of a generation of people who are more concerned about issues and people instead of voting along party lines.

“It is time to shake things up a little bit. We are excited for the future,” Rose said.

At press time, Rose won over opponent John Hayden in a 15,750 – 8,322 vote.

One of Rose’s top priorities once he takes office is ensuring the institutions of higher education keep their funding and more money goes to local schools. This is an especially big concern considering the education budget may be cut again to avoid another tax hike, Rose said.

“We have to make darn sure higher education and education budgets are protected,” Rose said.

That includes working with the Student Senate and the Student Action Team at Eastern to help students and increase state funding, Rose told The Daily Eastern News previously.

As state representative, Rose will unite his efforts with those of the Student Action Team, he said.

Rose said he would also like to see the tax credit for ethanol gasoline reinstated to further assist farmers.

Winning the race was especially rewarding for Rose after his long hours of campaigning over the past several months.

Election day began early for Rose, who got up at 2:30 a.m. to put out campaign signs in the rain. He then proceeded to have coffee at area coffee shops to talk to residents, and kept going for the rest of the day.

“I tell you it has been a whirlwind, rollercoaster day,” Rose said.

After his loss, Hayden said he would possibly consider running for state representative in the future, and felt that he ran a good race. “Overall, it was a great experience,” Hayden said.