2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election

2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election

←  2024 September 9, 2025 2026  →
Virginia's 11th congressional district
Nominee James Walkinshaw Stewart Whitson Party Democratic Republican
U.S. Representative before election Gerry Connolly Democratic Elected U.S. Representative TBD

A special election to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 11th congressional district will be held on September 9, 2025. The seat became vacant following the death of Democrat Gerry Connolly on May 21, 2025.

Background

Incumbent representative Gerry Connolly died of esophageal cancer on May 21, 2025. ^[1] Connolly had previously announced that he would not seek re-election in 2026. ^[2] He was first elected in 2008, and had announced his cancer diagnosis shortly after being re-elected in 2024. ^[3] 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. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin called a special election to be held on September 9, 2025. The deadline for candidates to file a candidacy was July 11, 2025. ^[4]

Based primarily in Fairfax County, this suburban district is widely regarded by political analysts to be a safely Democratic seat. The last time a Republican was elected to this district was in 2006, when Tom Davis was re‑elected. As of 2025, the seat has remained under Democratic control ever since, and Connolly won it by 67% to 33% in 2024. ^[5]

Democratic primary

Campaign

Opponents of James Walkinshaw, including Stella Pekarsky and Irene Shin, have alleged that the primary election was biased in favor of Walkinshaw, pointing to the short timeline for the election and the party's choice not to use ranked-choice voting in the primary. ^[6] Pekarsky, Shin, and other candidates have expressed frustration with delays in the party releasing voting locations and other information. Other candidates have shared concerns that party volunteers have publicly displayed a preference for Walkinshaw while working on behalf of the party. ^[7]

Fairfax County Democratic Committee chair Aaron Yohai denied Shin and Pekarsky’s claims, blaming Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin for scheduling the election so soon, which he said caused the delays in information. ^[8] Walkinshaw told Virginia Scope the complaints were candidates "trying to work the refs." ^[9]

On June 24, Connolly's social media accounts posted messages of support for Walkinshaw, causing shock and controversy on social media. ^[10]

Candidates

Nominee

• James Walkinshaw, Fairfax County supervisor (2019–present) and former chief of staff to Gerry Connolly ^[11]

Eliminated in primary

• Candice Bennett, member of the Fairfax County Planning Commission (2020–present) ^[12]
• Ross William Branstetter IV, businessman ^[13]
• Dan Lee, healthcare technology entrepreneur ^[14]
• Leopoldo Martínez Nucete, former senior counselor of the Minority Business Development Agency (2024–2025) and former deputy to the National Assembly of Venezuela (2000–2005) ^[15]
• Amy Papanu, former CIA operations officer and national security expert ^[16]
• Stella Pekarsky, state senator from the 36th district (2024–present) ^[17]
• Priya Punnoose, psychiatrist ^[18]
• Amy Roma, energy policy lawyer ^[19]
• Irene Shin, state delegate from the 8th district (2022–present) ^[14]

Declined

• Jennifer Boysko, state senator from the 38th district (2019–present) and candidate for Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2024 (endorsed Walkinshaw and Shin) ^[20]
• Steve Descano, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney (2020–present) (endorsed Walkinshaw) ^[21]
• Eileen Filler-Corn, former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates (2020–2022) from the 41st district (2010–2024) and candidate for Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2024 (endorsed Walkinshaw) ^[22]
• Dan Helmer, state delegate from the 10th district (2020–present) and candidate for Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2018 and 2024 ^[23]
• Dave Marsden, state senator from the 35th district (2010–present) (endorsed Walkinshaw) ^[24]
• Jeff McKay, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (2020–present) (endorsed Walkinshaw) ^[25]
• Saddam Azlan Salim, state senator from the 37th district (2024–present) (endorsed Pekarsky) ^[26]

Endorsements

Candice Bennett

Local officials

• Alyia Gaskins, mayor of Alexandria (2025–present) ^[27]

Stella Pekarsky

State legislators

• Louise Lucas, president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate (2020–present) from the 18th district (1992–present) ^[28]
• Holly Seibold, state delegate from the 12th district (2023–present) ^[28]
• Scott Surovell, majority leader of the Virginia Senate (2024–present) from the 34th district (2016–present) ^[24]

Irene Shin

U.S. senators

• Andy Kim, U.S. senator from New Jersey (2024–present) ^[29]

U.S. representatives

• Judy Chu, U.S. representative from California's 28th congressional district (2009–present) ^[30]

State legislators

• Ghazala Hashmi, state senator from the 15th district (2020–present) and Democratic nominee in the 2025 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election ^[31]

Organizations

• AAPI Victory Fund ^[32]

Individuals

• David Hogg, former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (2025) ^[33]

James Walkinshaw

U.S. representatives

• Don Beyer, U.S. representative from Virginia's 8th congressional district (2015–present) ^[34]
• Gerry Connolly, former U.S. representative from Virginia's 11th congressional district (2009–2025) (deceased; prior to his death) ^[35]
• Eugene Vindman, U.S. representative from Virginia's 7th congressional district (2025–present) ^[36]
• Jennifer Wexton, former U.S. representative from Virginia's 10th congressional district (2019–2025) ^[28]

Statewide officials

• Terry McAuliffe, former Governor of Virginia (2014–2018) ^[37]

State legislators

• Jennifer Boysko, state senator from the 38th district (2019–present) ^[20]
• David Bulova, state delegate from the 11th district (2006–present) ^[28]
• Eileen Filler-Corn, former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates (2020–2022) from the 41st district (2010–2024) ^[22]
• Dave Marsden, state senator from the 35th district (2010–present) ^[24]
• Briana Sewell, state delegate from the 25th district (2022–present) ^[28]
• Rip Sullivan, state delegate from the 6th district (2024–present) ^[28]
• Vivian Watts, state delegate from the 39th district (1996–present) ^[38]

County officials

• Walter Alcorn, Fairfax County supervisor from the Hunter Mill district (2020–present) ^[25]
• Jimmy Bierman, Fairfax County supervisor from the Dranesville district (2024–present) ^[25]
• Steve Descano, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney (2020–present) ^[21]
• Andres Jimenez, Fairfax County supervisor from the Mason district (2024–present) ^[25]
• Rodney Lusk, Fairfax County supervisor from the Franconia district (2020–present) ^[25]
• Jeff McKay, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (2020–present) ^[25]
• Dalia Palchik, Fairfax County supervisor from the Providence district (2020–present) and former member of the Fairfax County Public School Board ^[25]
• Kathy Smith, Fairfax County supervisor from the Sully district (2016–present) ^[25]
• Dan Storck, Fairfax County supervisor from the Mount Vernon district (2016–present) ^[25]

Organizations

• Alliance for American Leadership

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Joshua Aisen	Candice Bennett	Dan Lee	Leopoldo Martínez Nucete	Stella Pekarsky	Amy Roma	Irene Shin	James Walkinshaw	Undecided
Lake Research Partners (D) [39] [A]	June 5–9, 2025	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	2%	2%	2%	1%	8%	1%	6%	41%	36%

Debates and forums

2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election Democratic primary debates and forums

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Bennett	Branstetter	Lee	Martinez	Papanu	Pekarsky	Punnoose	Roma	Shin	Walkinshaw
1	June 24, 2025	WinDem [40]	Suhas Subramanyam	[41]	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Results

Democratic firehouse primary results ^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Walkinshaw	22,403	59.64%
	Democratic	Irene Shin	5,368	14.29%
	Democratic	Stella Pekarsky	5,043	13.43%
	Democratic	Amy Roma	2,697	7.18%
	Democratic	Dan Lee	710	1.89%
	Democratic	Leopoldo Martínez Nucete	498	1.33%
	Democratic	Amy Papanu	396	1.05%
	Democratic	Priya Punnoose	232	0.62%
	Democratic	Candice Bennett	190	0.51%
	Democratic	Ross William Branstetter IV	25	0.07%
Total votes			37,562	100.00%

Republican primary

The Republicans held a canvass to determine their nominee on June 28 at Fairfax High School, rather than run a full primary. ^[43]

Candidates

Nominee

• Stewart Whitson, government relations professional ^[44]

Eliminated in primary

• Nathan Headrick, banking executive ^[45]
• Karina Lipsman, systems engineer and nominee for Virginia's 8th congressional district in 2022 ^[46]
• Arthur Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance ^[47]
• Lucas Rand, hospital administrator ^[48]
• Mike Van Meter, behavioral therapist and nominee for this district in 2024 ^[49]
• Sam Wong, U.S. Army veteran ^[50]

Debates and forums

2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election Republican primary debates and forums

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican	Republican
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Headrick	Lipsman	Purves	Rand	Van Meter	Whitson	Wong
1	June 22, 2025	WMAL-FM [51]	Vince Coglianese	[52]	A	P	A	P	P	P	P
2	June 23, 2025	WMAL-FM [53]	Larry O'Connor	[54]	A	P	P	P	P	P	P

Results

Republican canvass results ^[55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stewart Whitson	1,019	39.18%
	Republican	Karina Lipsman	620	23.84%
	Republican	Mike Van Meter	586	22.53%
	Republican	Lucas Rand	198	7.61%
	Republican	Sam Wong	99	3.81%
	Republican	Nathan Headrick	40	1.54%
	Republican	Arthur Purves	39	1.49%
Total votes			2,601	100.00%

Independents

Failed to qualify

• Chandrashekar Tamirisa, sustainability leader ^[56]

General election

Debates and forums

2025 Virginia 11th congressional district special election debates and forums

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
P Participant   A Absent   N Non-invitee   I Invitee   W Withdrawn
					James Walkinshaw	Stewart Whitson
1	July 28, 2025	Reston Citizens Association [57]	Lynne Mulston	[58]	P	P
2	August 18, 2025	League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area [59]	Catherine White	[60]	P	P

Endorsements

Stewart Whitson (R)

Statewide officials

• Glenn Youngkin, incumbent governor (2022–present) ^[61]

County officials

• Pat Herrity, Fairfax County supervisor from the Springfield district (2008–present) ^[62]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [63]	Solid D	August 13, 2025
Inside Elections [64]	Solid D	June 30, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [65]	Safe D	August 14, 2025

Results

2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Walkinshaw
	Republican	Stewart Whitson
	Write-in
Total votes				100.0

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by Walkinshaw's campaign

References

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2. Quinn, Melissa (May 21, 2025). "Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly dies at 75". CBS News. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
3. Fields, Odyssey (November 7, 2024). "Virginia US Rep. Gerry Connolly announces cancer diagnosis after reelection". DC News Now. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
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57. Harrell, Princess (July 22, 2025). "WATCH: Fairfax voters hear from CD-11 candidates at forum ahead of special election". WJLA-TV . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
58. "YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE - Virginia 11th Congressional District Candidate Forum". YouTube. July 28, 2025. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
59. O'Connell, Michael (August 19, 2025). "DOGE Job Cuts, Public Safety Top Priorities For Walkinshaw, Whitson". Patch Media . Retrieved August 20, 2025.
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62. @JaredSerre (August 7, 2025). "Pat Herrity, the lone Republican on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has endorsed Stewart Whitson in #VA11. As expected, despite Whitson's opponent being one of Herrity's colleagues on the board" (Tweet). Retrieved August 12, 2025– via Twitter.
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External links

Official campaign websites

• James Walkinshaw (D) for Congress
• Stewart Whitson (R) for Congress