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Virginia's 4th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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![]() County and independent city results McClellan: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Benjamin: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Virginia |
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The 2023 Virginia's 4th congressional district special election was a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives that was held to fill Virginia's 4th congressional district for the remainder of the 118th United States Congress. The seat became vacant after incumbent Democrat Donald McEachin died on November 28, 2022, of colorectal cancer. [1] [2] State Senator Jennifer McClellan was declared the victor shortly after the polls closed, winning in a landslide against her Republican opponent.
In the United States, vacancies in the House must be filled by special elections. Under Virginia law, the governor schedules the special election and political parties handle their nominating processes themselves. On December 12, 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the special election would take place on February 21, 2023. [3] According to the writ of election, party nominees and other prospective candidates had until December 23 to file to run in the special election. [4]
The Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee, responsible for choosing a nominee by December 23, organized an unassembled caucus, or "firehouse primary," on December 20 with a filing deadline of December 16. [5] According to the Democratic Party of Virginia, the race saw the highest turnout in a "firehouse primary" in Virginia history. [6]
The solid Democratic lean of the district meant that victory in the primary was seen as tantamount to election. Political analysts perceived the short timeline between the writ of election and the primary date as beneficial to candidates with institutional support. The major candidates in the primary were state senators Jennifer McClellan, who was considered to be the establishment favorite, and "firebrand" Joe Morrissey. Morrissey criticized the lack of polling locations in his Senate district and his campaign paid for a radio ad encouraging Republicans to vote for him. [7]
McClellan won with 85% of the vote to Morrissey's 14%. [8]
State legislators
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U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
State officials
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jennifer McClellan | 23,661 | 84.8 | |
Democratic | Joe Morrissey | 3,782 | 13.6 | |
Democratic | Tavorise Marks | 217 | 0.8 | |
Democratic | Joseph Preston | 174 | 0.6 | |
Unallocated | 66 | 0.2 | ||
Total votes | 27,900 | 100.0 |
The Fourth Congressional District Republican Committee, responsible for choosing a nominee by December 23, held a canvass event in Colonial Heights on December 17. [32]
Despite already being regarded as a safe seat, McClellan still managed to widen the margin from the previous election in the district, winning with the largest percentage of votes in any federal election in the state since 2020 and the largest of any special election since 1946. Being a special election in an off year that comes with turnout downturn, McClellan won about three quarters of the total vote, while Benjamin slid to just a quarter of the vote, losing for the third time in a row. McClellan swept every county in the district except for Colonial Heights City and Prince George County.
After winning the special election, McClellan was sworn in on March 7, 2023, becoming the first black congresswoman from the Commonwealth of Virginia. [34] [35]
Source | Ranking | As of |
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The Cook Political Report [36] | Solid D | December 22, 2022 |
Inside Elections [6] | Solid D | December 22, 2022 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [37] | Safe D | December 20, 2022 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Jennifer McClellan | 82,040 | 74.41% | +9.49 | |
Republican | Leon Benjamin | 28,083 | 25.47% | −9.43 | |
Write-in | 129 | 0.12% | −0.06 | ||
Total votes | 110,252 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold |
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic |
Aston Donald McEachin was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in the state capital, Richmond; it included much of the area between Richmond, a portion of its suburbs, and Hampton Roads.
Joseph Dee Morrissey is an American Democratic politician, businessman, and former lawyer who won election to both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly from districts including Richmond or surrounding Henrico County, Virginia. He represented Virginia's 16th Senate district from 2020 to 2024, having been elected during the 2019 election. He represented much of southern Richmond, as well as all of the cities of Petersburg and Hopewell and portions of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties. He lost the 2023 Democratic primary for his district.
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