As expected, Fairfax County Supervisor (Braddock District) James Walkinshaw – who served as Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11)’s Chief of Staff for over 10 years – is running for VA11, following Rep. Connolly’s April 28 announcement that “the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned”; “The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress.” See below for Walkinshaw’s announcement video and tweets.
What I’d look for in this race, by the way, are: 1) when Rep. Connolly actually steps down, so there’s actually a vacancy to fill; 2) whether Connolly endorses his former Chief of Staff (Walkinshaw) or stays neutral; 3) how many other Democratic candidates throw their hats in the ring (so far, State Senator Stella Pekarsky is widely assumed to be running, with other possibilities including Del. Dan Helmer, former VA Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, State Senator Jennifer Boysko, maybe others as well); 4) whether the candidates mostly position themselves as in the mold of Connolly or break with Connolly in some significant way(s); etc.
Finally, I’ll just say that I’ve known James Walkinshaw for many years, although I haven’t really communicated with him in a while, and I was always impressed with his political and policy abilities. Having said that, I’m very much open to hearing from other Democratic candidates, including their argument for why they’d be best suited to succeed Rep. Connolly, who has done a superb job representing the district since he was first elected in 2008…
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