Democrat James Walkinshaw won a special election Tuesday to represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House, defeating Republican Stewart Whitson and picking up the seat vacated by the late Rep. Gerry Connolly.
Walkinshaw’s victory reduces the Republicans’ narrow majority in the House and comes amid wider GOP spending and governing battles in Washington as lawmakers face the prospect of a government shutdown later this month.
The special election was held to fill the seat of Connolly, who died in May of esophageal cancer. Connolly, an outspoken Democrat, had focused on federal workforce issues and on reforms to the federal government, concerns that resonated in a district with a large population of federal employees.
Walkinshaw, a Fairfax County supervisor since 2020 who previously served as Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade, had been endorsed by Connolly before the congressman’s death. He emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in June in which he bested nine other candidates for the party’s nomination.
At a victory celebration Tuesday, standing beside Connolly’s wife and daughter, Walkinshaw said he was honored to be elected and urged voters to reject what he called the Trump administration’s agenda. “Tonight, northern Virginians have sent a very powerful message: The reckless Trump agenda must come to an end,” Walkinshaw said.
On the campaign trail, Walkinshaw emphasized defending federal workers and pledged to push back on White House actions he described as attacks on the district’s workforce. Democrats spent roughly $2.3 million on advertising in the 11th District race, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign ad spending; AdImpact reported no ad spending by Republicans in the contest.
Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI agent who has worked at the Foundation for Government Accountability, ran as a political newcomer and highlighted his military service and advocacy for conservative policy changes. After the outcome was clear, Whitson issued a statement congratulating Walkinshaw and thanking voters who participated in the election.
The seat once held by Connolly has been a focal point for national attention because of the district’s large federal workforce and because of the implications a Democratic pickup has for control of the House. Walkinshaw’s win narrows the Republican majority, though it does not change which party controls the chamber.
Virginia voters will face a broader set of contests in November, when elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates are scheduled. For now, Walkinshaw’s victory secures representation for the 11th District and places another Democratic voice in debates over federal staffing, budgets and oversight as Congress heads into a tense period of negotiations.