US EditionDemocrat James Walkinshaw wins race for vacant, deep-blue Virginia House seat
James Walkinshaw, former chief of staff to late Rep. Connolly, won the special election, reducing the Republican House majority to six seats, tightening legislative control.
- Democrat James Walkinshaw won the September 9, 2025 special election in Virginia's 11th Congressional District to fill the late Rep. Gerry Connolly's seat.
- The election followed Connolly's death from esophageal cancer in May 2025, which left the deep-blue district vacant and prompted Walkinshaw's bid.
- Walkinshaw, Connolly's former chief of staff, faced Republican Stewart Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI agent, in a district home to 700,000 residents including many federal workers.
- Walkinshaw pledged to resist White House actions targeting federal employees and to advocate for fiscally and socially conservative policies, emphasizing in July that the community requires a representative in Congress who will actively defend its interests and demonstrate proven results.
- Walkinshaw's victory narrowed the House Republican majority to six seats, complicating Speaker Mike Johnson's legislative agenda amid looming spending conflicts.
65 Articles
65 Articles
Key takeaways from Virginia special election, Boston mayor’s race
Democrats scored a win in the race to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, narrowing the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw (D) handily defeated Republican Stewart Whitson, a former FBI agent, in the heavily Democratic-leaning district on Tuesday. The race offered some... The post Key takeaways from Virginia special election, Boston m…
What Speaker Johnson’s historically small majority looks like after Virginia’s special election
By Clare Foran and Annette Choi, CNN Washington (CNN) — Speaker Mike Johnson’s narrow House majority has shrunk further. Democrat James Walkinshaw will win a special election to represent a Virginia House seat previously held by the late Rep. Gerry Connolly. Once he takes office, the partisan breakdown in the House will stand at 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats plus three vacant seats. As a result, Johnson will only afford to lose two Republican…
Democrat James Walkinshaw Wins Special Election in Virginia, Narrowing House GOP Majority
James Walkinshaw, a Democrat, easily won the Sept. 9 special election in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, narrowing the GOP majority in the House of Representatives. The Associated Press called the race at 7:36 p.m. ET. He defeated Stewart Whitson, a Republican, U.S. Army Combat veteran, and former FBI special agent. Walkinshaw served for more than a decade as chief of staff to the man he will succeed, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who die…
InsideNoVA.com
Virginia MercuryDemocrats retake Connolly’s seat in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District special election
Democrat James Walkinshaw decisively won a special election Tuesday to replace former U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, narrowing Republicans’ majority in the House of Representatives to six seats. The Associated Press called the race in Walkinshaw’s…
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