Following his graduation from New York University, Walkinshaw became involved in Democratic politics in Northern Virginia, managing Gerry Connolly's 2007 campaign for Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Connolly's successful 2008 campaign for the United States House of Representatives. [5] Walkinshaw served as Connolly's chief of staff from 2009 until 2019. [6] [7] [8]
U.S. House special election (2025)
In April 2025, Representative Gerry Connolly announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026 due to health concerns. [11] Smitty Connolly, his wife, publicly shared that Connolly had asked to meet with Walkinshaw following his decision to not seek reelection, and asked him to consider running to succeed him. Smitty confirmed that Connolly had asked his long-time chief of staff to run for Congress after learning that his cancer had returned. [12] Walkinshaw announced his candidacy later that week, and Connolly endorsed him. [13] On May 21, 2025, Connolly died from esophageal cancer, and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin announced a special election to fill the seat, set for September 9, 2025. [14]
The Democratic Party selected its nominee in the race through a firehouse primary on June 28, 2025. The primary drew criticism from some candidates, including Stella Pekarsky and Irene Shin, who said that the compressed timeline and decision to not use ranked-choice voting gave Walkinshaw an unfair advantage. [15] [16] Despite criticism over the timing, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) pushed back, emphasizing that the election calendar and format was largely shaped by constraints set in motion by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Under Virginia law, special elections must take place on a Tuesday and at least 55 days before a regularly scheduled primary or general election. With statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general set for November 4, Youngkin selected the latest Tuesday available within that legal window for the special election.
The FCDC Chair acknowledged the challenges of holding a primary during the height of summer travel but expressed confidence that turnout would remain high. He pointed to the strong Democratic performance in the State-wide Democratic primary the previous Tuesday. [17]
The VA-11 2025 Democratic firehouse primary was the most participated-in special primary in Virginia's history, with 37,264 votes. [18]
In the final days before the Democratic primary, Connolly's official campaign and social media accounts, which had been inactive since his death, shared endorsements for Walkinshaw. [19] [20] The posts sparked additional criticism from commentators and rival campaigns who questioned the ethics of using Connolly's online persona for campaign purposes. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
A spokesperson for the Walkinshaw campaign, stated that the campaign does not control or direct content shared from Gerry Connolly's official accounts. He noted that Supervisor Walkinshaw had received Congressman Connolly’s endorsement prior to his death and currently has the support of the Connolly family. [26]
Walkinshaw won a 10-candidate Democratic primary race for the seat with 60% of the vote on June 28, 2025. [27] [28] [3] [29]
