James Walkinshaw, the ex-chief of staff for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, won a special election race Tuesday to fill his former boss’s seat.
The Associated Press called the race Tuesday night after 53% of votes were counted, projecting that Walkinshaw would carry a nearly 50 percentage point lead over Republican Stewart Whitson, a lobbyist for conservative think tank the Foundation for Government Accountability.
In a press release Tuesday night, the chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Lamont Bagby, said Walkinshaw delivered a “clear victory.”