Virginia Democrats have little time left to campaign for the primary election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
Five weeks after Connolly died after battling cancer, Virginia will hold the primary election for his seat on June 28, where the party will nominate a candidate for the special election. The Northern Virginia seat is a safe blue district that Connolly won by 34 points last year. The Democratic nominee from next week’s primary will be strongly favored in the Sept. 9 general election.
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The primary timeline left candidates little time to push their platform, gain name recognition, and prove how they will take on President Donald Trump, versus the Texas and Arizona special election primaries, which allow months to prepare and run what is almost a full campaign. This election will be one of the first to test messaging on what is winning among voters leading up to the 2026 midterm elections, as Democrats fight to flip the House.
“The margins in Congress are razor-thin, and the people of Virginia’s 11th Congressional District deserve representation,” Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Lamont Bagby told the Washington Examiner. “Voters are looking for a leader who will stand up for them and protect Virginians from Donald Trump’s reckless agenda.”
The nominee will be picked in a “firehouse” primary with early voting beginning next Tuesday, three days before the primary. A “firehouse” primary is an election run by the political party, not the government, to pick the candidate.
Three of the top candidates eyeing Connolly’s seat are James Walkinshaw, his former chief of staff and currently a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, and state Del. Irene Shin. The other contenders are child psychiatrist Priya Punnoose, lawyer Amy Roma, former White House and Massachusetts governor staffer Dan Lee, Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Candice Bennett, Navy veteran Josh Aisen, former Democratic National Committee member and Venezuelan legislator Leo Martinez, and former CIA operations officer Amy Papanu.
A poll conducted by a super PAC supporting Walkinshaw found the former Connolly staffer leading the crowded field, but 36% of voters were undecided.
“As more voters get to know Walkinshaw in this short runway to the special election, he will be well-poised to win this primary and become the next member of Congress representing VA-11,” the poll stated.
The Fairfax County district, which borders the Washington, D.C., beltway, is home to a large population of federal workers who have been greatly affected by Trump’s aggressive agenda to slash federal government spending in his first few months in office. The Department of Government Efficiency spearheaded job cuts for thousands of federal workers, and Connolly had fought hard to advocate these workers during his time in the House.
Aside from the special election to fill Connolly’s seat, House Democrats have also set June 24 for a caucus election to decide the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s next ranking member after Connolly beat out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for the top spot earlier this year.
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Four candidates — Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Robert Garcia (D-CA), and Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) — are running to replace Connolly. The job’s focus is countering GOP investigations into former President Joe Biden and other political investigations pursued by Chairman James Comer (R-KY). For now, 70-year-old Lynch is the acting ranking member.
Republicans maintained their ultra-slim majority in the House back in November, but the thin margins have widened after three House Democrats died while in office. Connolly, along with Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-TX) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) died after being sworn into office in January. None of these seats has been filled.
The primary election to fill Grijalva’s seat is July 15, with the general election being held on Sept. 23. Turner’s special election will be held even later. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has set Nov. 4 as the special election date to fill the congressional seat.