Former chief of staff to late Rep. Gerry Connolly wins Democratic nomination for his seat

The former chief of staff to the late Rep. Gerry Connolly clinched the Democratic nomination to fill Connolly’s seat in a deep-blue Northern Virginia district, according to the local Democratic Party.

James Walkinshaw won with 59.54% of the vote in Saturday’s party-run primary, according to results posted by the 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee of Virginia. He beat a field of 10 candidates that included state Sen. Stella Pekarsky and state Del. Irene Shin in the race for the special election nomination.

Shin finished in second place with 14.27% of the vote, while Pekarsky placed third with 13.40%, according to the party’s tabulation.

Walkinshaw was Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019 and has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020. Walkinshaw earned an endorsement from Connolly for this race before he died.

He ran a campaign focused on stopping Trump’s “dangerous” agenda, saying he would fight to protect the district’s more than 50,000 federal workers.

“I’m honored & humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said on X. “This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.”

The race drew some outside spending, with Walkinshaw receiving over $2.4 million in support from Fight for Virginia’s Future and Protect Progress. Save Democracy PAC spent over $160,000 supporting Pekarsky, and People Over Monopolies spent almost $184,000 supporting Shin.

Fight for Virginia’s Future also spent money on negative ads and robocalls criticizing Pekarsky for supporting a bill that would hold a referendum on a casino in Fairfax County.

Walkinshaw will advance to the September special election, where he is the likely favorite to win, as then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district by 34 percentage points in 2024. He will face Republican Stewart Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI official.