Democrats scored an important win Tuesday night in Northern Virginia, cutting into the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
James Walkinshaw, a Fairfax County supervisor and longtime aide to the late Representative Gerald Connolly, won a special election to succeed his former employer in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
Highlights
- Democrat James Walkinshaw won Virginia’s 11th District special election, narrowing the GOP House majority to 219-213.
- Walkinshaw criticized the 'reckless Trump agenda,' marking Democrats’ first House special election win since Trump returned to office.
- Walkinshaw defeated Republican Stewart Whitson, with Democrats investing $2.3m in ads while Republicans spent nothing.
- Upcoming special elections in Arizona and Texas could further shrink Republicans’ House margin to just one seat.
- Democrats’ overperformance signals momentum heading into statewide elections, according to Virginia Democratic leaders.
The seat opened in May when Connolly died of cancer. His death left Democrats down another member in a chamber where Republicans already held a slim edge.
James Walkinshaw won a special election in Northern Virginia
Image credits: Craig Hudson/Getty Images
Walkinshaw, 42, defeated Republican Stewart Whitson, a former FBI agent, military veteran, and current lobbyist for a conservative think tank.
“Tonight, northern Virginians have sent a very powerful message: The reckless Trump agenda must come to an end,” Walkinshaw said at his election night party on Tuesday.
The victory narrows Republicans’ margin in the House to just 219-213. Once Walkinshaw is sworn in, Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to lose only two GOP members on any party-line vote. Until now, Republicans could lose three.
Last month, Republican Congressman Mark Green also announced his resignation from Tennessee’s 7th District, prompting another special election. Several Democratic and Republican candidates have announced their campaigns to replace him.
Democrats could close the gap even further later this year, with special elections scheduled in Arizona and Texas to replace two Democratic lawmakers who died earlier in 2025.
Virginia’s 11th District, based in Fairfax County just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., has been solidly Democratic since Connolly's election in 2008.
Connolly won re-election by wide margins and had won against Republicans with more than two-thirds of the vote since 2016.
In 2024, voters in the district backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris over U.S. President Donald Trump by a 34-point margin.
That history made Walkinshaw the clear favorite going into Tuesday’s election.
Democrats also poured money into the race, spending about $2.3 million on advertising. Republicans spent nothing, according to AdImpact, a campaign ad spending tracker.
Walkinshaw promised to fight attacks made by the White House, especially against federal workers. “Our community needs a member of Congress committed to fighting anyone who attacks our community and someone with a record of delivering results,” Walkinshaw said in July during a debate.
Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement, “victory continues the dominant trend we’re seeing so far this year — Democrats are massively overperforming in nearly every race.”
Walkinshaw’s win cuts into the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives
Image credits: Maxine Wallace/Getty Images
Lamont Bagby, chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, tied the result to upcoming statewide elections.
“Democrats have the clear momentum as we work to elect Abigail Spanberger and the entire Democratic ticket, with early voting beginning in just 10 days,” Bagby said in a statement.
The contest was also the first House special election that Democrats have won since Trump returned to office. Walkinshaw himself described the race as “our first chance to send a Democrat to Congress since Trump took office again.”
Connolly’s death was one of several this year that shifted the balance of power in Washington. Along with him, Representatives Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Sylvester Turner of Texas, both Democrats, died earlier in 2025. Their seats are expected to remain in Democratic hands after the upcoming special elections.
Image credits: Fairfax County
If Democrats win both elections, the Republican margin would shrink to just one vote. That would give House Democrats more leverage on committee legislation.
It would also give House members looking to force a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files an advantage.
A bipartisan discharge petition is being led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna. It needs 218 signatures to move forward. So far, the Congress has 216 votes without Walkinshaw.
Meanwhile, State Rep. James Talarico on Tuesday announced that he will run in the Democratic primary for the Texas Senate. Talarico left the state during a special session alongside Democratic colleagues this summer, protesting against Trump’s GOP redistricting plan.