Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D) has become the first black congresswoman elected in the Old Dominion after beating out GOP challenger Leon Benjamin on Tuesday in a special election for an open U.S. House seat.
McClellan, who was heavily favored to win, defeated her conservative rival for the 4th Congressional District seat, which was vacated following the death of Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) in November. McEachin was reelected with 65% of the vote but died just days later from colorectal cancer.
JENNIFER MCCLELLAN WINS DEMOCRATIC 'FIREHOUSE PRIMARY' TO REPLACE LATE REP. DON MCEACHIN
“Jenn’s going to win this race,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) predicted at a rally held for McClellan in Richmond on Saturday.
McClellan clinched the Democratic nomination in December after winning a four-way firehouse primary with about 85% of the vote. The district is solidly blue, meaning she was the heavy favorite heading into Election Day.
While Tuesday's outcome is unlikely to shift the balance of power in the House, McClellan's win sets a new record for the number of women serving in Congress as well as the number of black women serving in the House, which will rise to 28.
McClellan has spent the past 17 years working in the Virginia General Assembly.
She has led legislative packages such as the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, the first state voting rights act in the South. She was also a major player behind the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which established a renewable energy standard that mandates Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Electric Power to produce 100% renewable electricity by 2045 and 2050.
In all, she has helped pass 350 pieces of legislation during her time in the state legislature.
The 50-year-old mother of two, who was born in Petersburg, said her strategy for working with Republicans in Congress would be to listen.
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"Focusing on solving problems, finding common ground where you can't, and if you can't [find] it, then just pushing forward for what's best for your constituents and the country," she said during an appearance on ABC's GMA3 last month.