Virginia Democrats Tap James Walkinshaw for 11th Congressional District Special Election
The special election was called following the death of U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D).
The Democratic and Republican firehouse primaries occurred today in Virginia to select candidates for a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ten Democrats and seven Republicans qualified for the primary ballot. A candidate only needs a plurality of the vote to receive their party’s nomination.
The special election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District was called following the death of U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, a Democrat, from esophageal cancer. He served this district from January 2009 to May 2025. He was re-elected with a 66.7-32.9 victory against Republican Mike Van Meter in November 2024.
The 11th District covers the state’s suburban Washington, D.C. areas - including the independent city of Fairfax and parts of Fairfax County. During the 2024 presidential election, Democrat Kamala Harris carried the district with a 65.7-31.4 finish against Republican Donald Trump.
James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary with 59.6% (22,403) against Irene Shin with 14.3% (5,368), Stella Pekarsky with 13.4% (5,043), Amy Roma with 7.2% (2,697), Dan Lee with 1.9% (710), Leopoldo Martinez Nucete with 1.3% (498), Amy Papanu with 1.1% (396), Priya Punnoose with 0.6% (232), Candice Bennett with 0.5% (190), and Ross William Branstetter IV with 0.1% (25). 37,562 votes have been counted.
Walkinshaw has represented the Braddock district on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since January 2019. He previously served as the Chief of Staff to Connelly. Before his death, Connelly announced that he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2026. He endorsed Walkinshaw as his chosen successor for the office.
Meanwhile, Stewart Whitson won the Republican primary with 39.2% (1,019) against Karina Lipsman with 23.8% (620), Mike Van Meter with 22.5% (586), Lucas Rand with 7.6% (198), Sam Wong with 3.8% (99), Nathan Headrick with 1.5% (40), and Arthur Purves with 1.5% (39). 2,601 votes have been counted.
A former FBI agent and U.S. Army veteran, Whitson serves as the Senior Director of Federal Affairs at the conservative think tank, the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The U.S. House of Representatives currently features 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats. The chamber currently has three vacancies in previously Democratic-held seats. Furthermore, a Republican member will be leaving shortly. The special election between Walkinshaw and Whitson will occur on September 9, 2025.