Virginia voters have all but ensured that a former aide to the late Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly will take the late lawmaker’s seat in Congress.
In a primary election held Saturday, James Walkinshaw, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, defeated nine other candidates to win the Democratic nomination to replace Connolly. Republicans selected Stewart Whitson, a former FBI agent who works at a conservative think tank.
The overwhelmingly Democratic tilt of Virginia’s 11th District, which includes many federal workers, means that Walkinshaw is likely to win the Sept. 9 general election.
In a statement on X, Walkinshaw, who served as Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade and won Connolly’s endorsement prior to the lawmaker’s death, said that he would “carry Gerry’s legacy forward” while “protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms and delivering for working families.”
