Former chief of staff to late Rep. Gerry Connolly wins Democratic nomination for his seat
The former chief of staff of the deceased representative Gerry Connolly won the Democratic appointment to fill the siege of Connolly in a district of Virginia in North Blue, according to the local Democratic Party.
James Walkinshaw won with 59.54% of the votes during the primary led by the party on Saturday, according to the results published by the 11th Democratic Committee of the Virginia Congress District. He beat a field of 10 candidates who included senator Stella Pekarsky and the DEL state. Irene Shin in the race for the appointment of special elections.
Shin finished second with 14.27% of the vote, while Pekarsky ranked third with 13.40%, according to party tab.
Walkinshaw was the chief of staff of Connolly from 2009 to 2019 and has sat on the Board of Directors of the County Fairfax since 2020. Walkinshaw obtained an approval from Connolly for this race before his death.
He carried out a campaign focused on stopping the “dangerous” agenda of Trump, saying that he would fight to protect the more than 50,000 federal workers in the district.
“I am honored and humiliated to have won the democratic appointment for the district that I spent my career to serve,” said Walkinshaw on X. “This victory was propelled by neighbors, volunteers and supporters who believe in the protection of our democracy, the defense of our freedoms and the delivery of working families.”
The race has resulted in external expenses, Walkinshaw receiving more than $ 2.4 million to support Fight for Virginia and protect progress. Saving PAC democracy spent more than $ 160,000 to support Pekarsky, and people on monopolies spent nearly $ 184,000 while supporting Shin.
Fight for the future of Virginia has also spent money on negative advertisements and robocalles criticizing Pekarsky to support a bill that would hold a referendum on a casino in the county of Fairfax.
Walkinshaw will go to the September special elections, where he is probably the favorite to win, while the president of the time, Kamala Harris, brought the 34 percentage point district in 2024. He will face the Republican Stewart Whitson, army veteran and former FBI official.
