Democrat James Walkinshaw wins race for vacant, deep-blue Virginia House seat

Democrat James Walkinshaw has won Virginia’s deep-blue 11th Congressional District, NBC News projects, an expected win for his party that adds another Democrat to the narrowly divided House of Representatives.

The seat that had been vacant since Rep. Gerry Connolly, who had esophageal cancer, died in May at age 75. Walkinshaw spent a decade as a top aide to Connolly.

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Democrats will have 213 representatives in the House once Walkinshaw is sworn in, while Republicans have 219 representatives, with three seats still vacant because of deaths and resignations. A number of key votes loom on the horizon.

Walkinshaw could bring Democrats and a handful of Republicans closer to forcing a vote to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As of last Wednesday, lawmakers were just two members away from being able to force a vote on whether to release the documents.

Government funding is also set to expire at the end of the month, another source of conflict in Washington.

Walkinshaw faced off against Republican Stewart Whitson, who served in a top role at an advocacy group, for the seat just outside Washington in northern Virginia, which Vice President Kamala Harris carried with about two-thirds of the vote last year.

Walkinshaw was Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019, and he earned Connolly’s endorsement before he died. Walkinshaw also served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020.

“James brings unmatched experience, a depth of knowledge about federal issues, and a steadfast commitment to progressive values,” Connolly said in an endorsement touted by the Walkinshaw campaign. “When I took office in 2009, appointing him Chief of Staff was one of the best decisions I made.”

Walkinshaw leaned into criticism of President Donald Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce during his campaign. The district has a particularly high concentration of federal workers.

“Federal employees, know that millions of us honor your service and sacrifice,” Walkinshaw wrote on X in August. “I’ll fight to end Trump’s attacks on our nonpartisan civil service and build a government that works for all.”

More special elections to fill vacant seats in Congress are on tap for later this year. The next one, for the seat of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., will take place in two weeks, on Sept. 23.