Gerry Connolly Stepping Down as Top Democrat on House Oversight Committee

Connolly also won't run for re-election in 2026.

Earlier today, U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly of Virginia announced that his cancer had resurged after previously going into remission. As such, the Democrat has decided to step down as the Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee and will not run for re-election in 2026.

Connolly, 75, becomes the eighth retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives this cycle, the third Democrat to do so, and the first leaving without running for another office.

Connolly has served Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2009. The district covers suburban Washington, D.C. - including the independent city of Fairfax and parts of Fairfax County. Notably, it is the third-most Democratic district in Virginia.

From 1979 to 1989, Connolly worked as a staffer on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. From 1989 to 1997, he was Vice President of the Washington Office of SRI International and Director of Community Relations for SAIC.

In 1995, Connolly was elected for the first time in a special election. He ultimately represented the Providence district on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from March 1995 to December 2003. He then won a promotion to Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors - serving from December 2003 to January 2009.

In 2008, Connolly was the Democratic nominee for the 11th District after seven-term Republican incumbent Tom Davis retired. He flipped control of the district 54.7-43.1 against Republican Keith Fimian. In 2010, he prevailed by a narrow 49.2-48.8 plurality in a rematch with Fimian. Redistricting made the seat more Democratic and Connolly never faced another competitive general election. He served for nine terms in office.

In addition to Oversight, Connolly serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs during the 119th Congress. He became the Ranking Member on Oversight at the start of this year.

Before the 119th Congress began, the top Democratic position on the House Oversight Committee was open after Jamie Raskin of Maryland opted to instead take over the Judiciary Committee. Connolly and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York vied for the position. The House Democratic Steering Committee ultimately assigned Connolly the role - rewarding it to him through the process of seniority that has always been deployed. With Connolly stepping down, the contest to assume this leadership position should be competitive. Notably, Ocasio-Cortez has since left the committee to assume a spot on the Energy and Commerce panel. That could benefit Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, who now has the most seniority amongst the committee’s Democrats.

A competitive primary should form to succeed Connolly in the 11th District as well. State Delegate Dale Helmer - who ran in the neighboring 10th District last year - is the only candidate to express interest in the immediate aftermath of Connolly’s announcement. He won’t have the field to himself if he decides to run. Given the partisan lean of the district, the winner of the Democratic primary will likely become the next U.S. Representative here.

Under the current lines, Democrat Kamala Harris won Virginia’s 11th Congressional District with a 65.7-31.4 finish against Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. That came as Harris was carrying the state 51.8-46.0 in her ultimately unsuccessful national campaign. On the same ballot, Connolly was re-elected with a 66.7-32.9 victory against Republican Mike Van Meter for his final term in office.