Virginia Democrat wins special election for Gerry Connolly's House seat

Democratic Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw on Tuesday night won a special election for the late-Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly's seat, the Associated Press reported.

Walkinshaw, who is Connolly's former chief of staff, faced off against Republican Stewart Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI official, for the seat. Connolly endorsed Walkinshaw to replace him in the House just weeks before he died.

Connolly announced he was not seeking reelection earlier this year, after he was diagnosed with esophagus cancer. He died in May at the age of 75.

Walkinshaw was expected to win the election because of the district's strong Democratic leaning. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by 34 points last year, though only narrowly won the state.

The candidate promised to advocate for federal workers amid job and funding cuts to federal agencies since President Donald Trump returned to office, which followed Connolly's footsteps.

Virginia’s 11th District is one of four vacancies in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold 219 seats to Democrats’ 212.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.