James Walkinshaw

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Walkinshaw speaking at a Democratic Forum in the primary James Walkinshaw speaking at forum, headshot.jpg
Walkinshaw speaking at a Democratic Forum in the primary

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] He defeated Republican Stewart Whitson by approximately 50 percentage points in the general election on September 9. [30] Walkinshaw was sworn in the following day. [31]

Committee assignments

Walkinshaw's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Economic issues

Walkinshaw opposes the tariff and trade policies of the second Trump administration. He has also criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying that over 320,000 Virginians would lose healthcare access as a result of the bill and that he would work to repeal the bill if elected to Congress. [34]

Education

Walkinshaw says that curriculum decisions "are made and should be made at the local and to some degree state level" and has dismissed claims that the U.S. Department of Education determines curriculum in local school districts. He opposes President Donald Trump's efforts to "dismantle" the Department of Education. [34]

Foreign policy

James Walkinshaw answering a question about Gaza

Walkinshaw supports providing aid to Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War. He has described Israel as a "key U.S. ally strategically" and supports maintaining U.S. military assistance to the country, but has called for a ceasefire in the Gaza War and criticized Israel for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. Walkinshaw supports the China–United States trade war, saying that he agrees with Trump that China "has been operating unfairly within the global trade and economic regime for a long time". [34]

Immigration

Walkinshaw opposes the immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration, saying that "Trump's agenda to terrorize and deport law-abiding families is a distraction from focusing on the small number who commit violent crimes". He supports comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship. [34]

Personal life

Walkinshaw lives in Annandale, Virginia. [35] He and his wife, Yvette, have a son. [9]

Electoral history

James Walkinshaw
James Walkinshaw.jpg
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Virginia's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 10, 2025
2025 Virginia 11th congressional district special Democratic primary [36]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James Walkinshaw 22,403 59.64%
Democratic Irene Shin 5,36814.29%
Democratic Stella Pekarsky 5,04313.43%
Democratic Amy Roma2,6977.18%
Democratic Dan Lee7101.89%
Democratic Leopoldo Martínez Nucete 4981.33%
Democratic Amy Papanu3961.05%
Democratic Priya Punnoose2320.62%
Democratic Candice Bennett1900.51%
Democratic Ross William Branstetter IV250.07%
Total votes37,562 100.00%
2025 Virginia 11th congressional district special General election [37]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James Walkinshaw 107,959 74.9
Republican Stewart Whitson36,12325.1
Write-in 2870.2
Total votes144,082 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "Incoming Rep. James Walkinshaw - Biography | LegiStorm". Legistorm. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "About Supervisor Walkinshaw | Board of Supervisors - Braddock". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Armus, Teo; Balachandar, Daranee; Vozzella, Laura; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan; Schneider, Gregory S. (June 28, 2025). "Walkinshaw wins Virginia primary to replace Rep. Connolly, his former boss". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Woolsey, Angela (December 21, 2018). "Connolly chief of staff sets sights on Braddock District supervisor". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Gerry Connolly for Congress". gerryconnolly.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Democrats' pick to replace Rep. Connolly wants to carry forward his legacy". The Washington Post .
  7. ↑ "Gerry Connolly backs former chief of staff to fill his Northern Virginia seat". POLITICO. May 6, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Congressional Salaries of James Walkinshaw | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Meet James Walkinshaw". James Walkinshaw Democrat for Congress. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  10. ↑ "2023 Board of Supervisors General Election Fairfax County - Braddock". Virginia Department of Elections . November 7, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Rep. Gerry Connolly backs former aide to succeed him in Congress". The Washington Post .
  12. ↑ Serre, Jared. FFX Now Reporter https://x.com/JaredSerre/status/1934030915036151989.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "Fairfax County Supervisor To Run For Connolly's Seat In Congress". Burke, VA Patch. May 6, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Governor Glenn Youngkin Sets Special Election for Virginia's 11th Congressional District". www.governor.virginia.gov. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  15. ↑ vascope (June 20, 2025). "Walkinshaw's frontrunner status sparks debate over fairness in Virginia's 11th Congressional District Primary". Virginia Scope. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  16. ↑ Armus, Teo; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan; Vozzella, Laura; Schneider, Gregory S. (June 23, 2025). "Virginia Democrats' race to replace Rep. Connolly is a weeks-long sprint". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ↑ Kerley, Andrew. "Walkinshaw's frontrunner status sparks debate over fairness in Virginia's 11th Congressional District Primary". Virginia Scope. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ OConnell, Michael (June 29, 2025). "Editor". Patch.
  19. ↑ "Gerry Connolly's post". Facebook .
  20. ↑ Solender, Andrew (June 24, 2025). "Dead congressman promotes candidate for his seat on social media". Axios. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  21. ↑ Nitzberg, Alex (June 25, 2025). "Dead congressman's social media accounts resurrected to boost former chief of staff's congressional bid". Fox News. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Dead members of Congress can't stop posting". POLITICO. June 28, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  23. ↑ Lotz, Avery (June 30, 2025). "Late lawmaker posts raise questions about digital life after death". Axios. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  24. ↑ Weigel, David (June 27, 2025). "Virginia congressman's posthumous endorsement adds a new twist to Democratic age struggles". Semafor. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  25. ↑ Manchester, Julia (June 24, 2025). "Deceased lawmaker's social media urges support for former aide in Virginia special election". The Hill. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  26. ↑ Ewing, Giselle (June 28, 2025). "Dead members of Congress can't stop posting". Politico.com. Politico. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Virginia's 11th Congressional District special election, 2025 (June 28 Democratic firehouse primary)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  28. ↑ McIntire, Mary Ellen (June 29, 2025). "James Walkinshaw wins Democratic nod in Virginia special election". Roll Call. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  29. ↑ "James Walkinshaw wins Democratic contest to likely replace US Rep. Connolly in northern Virginia". AP News. June 29, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  30. ↑ "2025 Virginia 11th Congressional District Special Election Results". AP News. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  31. ↑ Freking, Kevin (September 10, 2025). "House swears in its newest member". Associated Press . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Following in His Mentor Gerry Connolly's Footsteps, New Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Appointed to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform". Blue Virginia. September 17, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. September 11, 2025.
  34. 1 2 3 4 Gelman, Scott (July 10, 2025). "Candidates running for Virginia Rep. Connolly's seat weigh in on key issues". WTOP-FM . Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Walkinshaw launches congressional campaign". Annandale Today. June 16, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  36. ↑ "CD-11 UNOFFICIAL RESULTS". Google Docs. 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee. June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  37. ↑ "Virginia House Special Results 2025". AP . September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 11th congressional district
2025–present		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
432nd		Succeeded byas U.S. Delegate
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