UPDATE 8:33 pm – Walkinshaw now leading 74.7%-25.1% with about 132,000 votes counted and 145/175 precincts reporting in Fairfax County.
UPDATE 7:30 pm – Some results from Fairfax County now in: 38,371 (75.1%) for Walkinshaw, just 12,669 (24.8%) for Whitson. This is obviously a done deal, the only question is what Walkinshaw’s margin of victory will be and when he’ll be sworn in!
UPDATE 7:25 pm – OK, we now have some actual results, with Walkinshaw at 1,163 votes and Whitson at 489 — more than a 2:1 margin for Walkinshaw (note: those results were from Fairfax City).
UPDATE 7:17 pm – Ben Tribbett just called it for James Walkinshaw. I haven’t seen any results yet, but I’m sure that’s right.
UPDATE 7:06 pm – Polls are closed, just waiting for results to start coming in…
It’s 6:45 pm and polls will close in just 15 minutes in the VA11 special election for the seat vacated by the death of the late, great Rep. Gerry Connolly (D)! Results should be coming in pretty quickly – and I’m not expecting a huge amount of suspense in this election. Mostly I’ll be looking for turnout (comparison: the VA04 special election on February 21, 2023 saw turnout of about 110k, with Democrat Jennifer McClellan winning 74.4%-25.5%) and margin of victory (presumably, given that VA11 went 65%-31% for Kamala Harris and 67%-33% for Gerry Connolly last November) for Democrat James Walkinshaw over his right-wing-Republican opponent, Stewart Whitson. For results, I’ll mostly be checking the Virginia Department of Elections site.
By the way, it will be interesting to see when James Walkinshaw is sworn in to the US House, and specifically whether Speaker Mike Johnson will try to slow walk things, given his narrow majority. If Johnson tries to pull any of that crap, I’m not sure what recourse we’ll have, other than raising a huge stink – which we definitely should. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Also note that as soon as James Walkinshaw is sworn in, he will be able to sign the discharge petition for the Epstein files – said petition currently at 216 signatures (just four of which are Republicans; none from Virginia), thus nearing success, given that just two more signatures are needed. Of course, that’s also a reason why Speaker Johnson might try to slow walk Walkinshaw’s swearing in…so stay tuned on that front!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Walkinshaw became the Democratic nominee back on June 28, winning a crowded “firehouse caucus” with an impressive 59.5% of the vote (the runner up, Del. Irene Shin, finished with 14.3% of the vote, followed by State Sen. Stella Pekarsky with 13.4% of the vote). A big part of the reason why Walkinshaw won so big was that he was strongly endorsed by Gerry Connolly before he died on May 21, and also the fact that Walkinshaw was Connolly’s Chief of Staff for a decade, is well known and respected in Fairfax, has served as Fairfax County Supervisor for five years, etc. Plus, the rest of the Democratic “firehouse primary” field was splintered and there was no Ranked Choice Voting…not that it ended up mattering in this case, due to Walkinshaw’s enormous margin of victory, well over 50%.
Anyway, on that note, we’ll see soon enough how well Walkinshaw ended up doing.
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Richmond, VA – Today, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Congressman Gerry Connolly by an overwhelming margin. Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Senator Lamont Bagby issued the following statement congratulating Congressman-elect Walkinshaw:
“The people of Virginia’s 11th Congressional District delivered a clear victory for Congressman-elect James Walkinshaw,” said Senator Lamont Bagby, Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia. “His deep Northern Virginia roots and record of service resonated with voters, and his election honors Congressman Gerry Connolly’s legacy of fighting for workers, infrastructure, and transportation solutions. This win shows the energy of Virginians who are ready to stand up to rising prices and federal layoffs caused by Donald Trump’s reckless agenda, and it illustrates that Democrats have the clear momentum as we work to elect Abigail Spanberger and the entire Democratic ticket with early voting beginning in just ten days. Congressman Connolly will never be replaced, but Congressman-elect Walkinshaw will carry on his mission of tireless public service and results for Northern Virginians.”
Congressman-elect Walkinshaw won the Democratic nomination in June through an unassembled caucus, also known as a firehouse primary, with 59.54% of the vote. That firehouse primary saw historic turnout with over 39,000 votes cast, the largest party-run nomination process in the history of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
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