Democrat James Walkinshaw will be the newest member of Congress, winning a special election in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District to replace Gerry Connolly, who had held the U.S. House seat representing the City of Fairfax and much of Fairfax County since 2009 and died in May.
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Walkinshaw served as Connolly’s chief of staff and is serving his second term as the Braddock District supervisor on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Connolly endorsed Walkinshaw as his successor before his death.
“This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump’s reckless agenda. This is the beginning of the end for MAGA rule in Washington. And this is the beginning of a new chapter, because tomorrow morning I’ll wake up and head to the Capitol and start fighting for our community,” Walkinshaw said during a victory speech Tuesday night.
He’s calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to swear him in Wednesday, saying the winners of the two other special elections during the 119th Congress, both Republicans, were able to take the oath of office the day after their victories.
Walkinshaw beat out Republican candidate Stewart Whitson, a former FBI special agent and Army veteran. The Associated Press called the race at 7:36 p.m. on Tuesday, 36 minutes after polls closed.
As of 10:20 p.m., Walkinshaw had earned nearly 75% of the vote to Whitson’s 25%. Approximately 96% of the vote had been counted, according to the AP.
His campaign also raised far more than Whitson’s, totaling over $1 million, compared to Whitson’s $224,469, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
“This result should be encouraging to Democrats, who needed a big win to indicate that they are energized heading into the 2026 midterm elections,” WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller said.
Walkinshaw’s margin was even greater than Connolly’s in 2024, who won with 66.7% of the vote running as an incumbent.
The victory for Democrats means they now hold 213 seats in the House of Representatives, while Republicans hold 219. Miller cautioned that Democrats should not read too much into Tuesday’s victory, as Walkinshaw was heavily favored to win the race in the deep-blue district.
However, Walkinshaw’s convincing win may be seen by observers as a signal of momentum for Democrats heading into Virginia’s election for governor in November.
“Northern Virginians have sent a very powerful message,” Walkinshaw said. “Tonight’s victory is just the beginning.”
Walkinshaw patterns his politics after his predecessor as a “pragmatic progressive.”
As a Fairfax County supervisor, he’s led efforts to ban guns from libraries and recreation centers, improve pay and benefits for working families, extend tax relief to seniors and military families, and fight climate change, according to his campaign.
As he prepares to be sworn in as a member of Congress, Walkinshaw said he’s ready to challenge the Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump’s mission to shrink the federal workforce, much of which resides in Walkinshaw’s district.
“I want to take on the Trump agenda. I want to end DOGE and I want to deliver results for our community, as I did when I was Gerry Connolly’s chief of staff, as I have on the board of supervisors,” Walkinshaw told WTOP.
He said going through this special election process has had its challenges.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Walkinshaw said before polls closed Tuesday. “It obviously started with a very hard loss of a close friend in Gerry Connolly. We had a sprint to the primary, a 10-way primary. So we sprinted to that, and now we’ve sprinted to this special election. But I’ve enjoyed most every minute of it, had the opportunity to meet thousands and thousands of folks here in the 11th District, and talk about their experiences and their challenges and their hopes and their dreams.”
According to the Virginia Department of Elections, 26% of registered voters in Fairfax County cast a ballot in Tuesday’s election. About 11% of those voters cast a ballot early.
Similarly, about 28% of registered voters turned out in the City of Fairfax.
During the last election for the 11th District seat that didn’t coincide with a presidential election, more than 55% of registered voters in the district cast a ballot.
Special elections traditionally have lower turnout.
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