Gerry Connolly’s Ex-Chief of Staff Wins Special Election for Late Boss’s Congressional Seat

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.”

“Congressman Connolly will never be replaced, but Congressman-elect Walkinshaw will carry on his mission of tireless public service and results for Northern Virginians,” Bagby said in the statement.

Connolly, who endorsed Walkinshaw in the weeks before his death, had represented a safely blue Northern Virginia district since 2008.

Walkinshaw served as Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade before leaving in 2019 to flip his current board of supervisors seat in Fairfax County. During a July debate, Walkinshaw said his priorities would include reducing the costs of health care, higher education and homebuying, and as investing in renewable energy.

“Our community needs a member of Congress committed to fighting anyone who attacks our community and someone with a record of delivering results,” Walkinshaw said at a July debate.

Virginia’s 11th Congressional District makes up the majority of Fairfax County, home to 800,000 federal employees and contractors.