As family, colleagues in Congress, and a wide circle of friends from the 11th District in Northern Virginia mourned the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, questions began about what will happen now to the seat of the eight-term House Democrat.
Connolly, who died Wednesday morning at age 75, is the third sitting House member to have died in office this year. Like Connolly, Reps. Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Sylvester Turner of Texas — both of whom died in March — were Democrats.
(As many Capitol Hill pundits noted, had any two of the three recently deceased lawmakers lived, President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on taxes and spending would have failed on the House floor last night instead of securing passage in a 215-to-214 vote.)
Under Virginia law, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin could call a special election to succeed Connolly at the earliest on June 24 or at the latest on the actual election day this year (Nov. 4). Most Youngkin-watchers expect he will do so on Nov. 4 and leave it to individual party conventions or caucuses to select their nominees.
At this point, party primaries to select candidates for office in Virginia this year are scheduled for June 17. Given the early timing of the primaries, it is unlikely ballots could be printed in time to select nominees for Congress in the 11th District.
As his cancer worsened last year, Connolly announced his retirement and endorsed a friend and protege, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw, as his successor. Like Connolly, whom he served as chief of staff for a decade, Walkinshaw is a committed liberal who championed greater spending on education and stricter gun control measures on the county board.
Democrat Rep. Don Beyer of the neighboring Virginia district and all of Walkinshaw’s fellow Democrats of the Board of Supervisors have also weighed in for him.
Given the choice of a nominee by a convention system and the reverence for Connolly among local Democrats, Walkinshaw is considered a heavy favorite to be the nominee. But other committed liberal Democrats are reportedly eyeing the race, including state Sens. Stella Pekarsky and Jennifer Boysko and Delegate Dan Helmer.
Among Republicans, former FBI agent and 2024 GOP nominee Mike Van Meter has long indicated he wants a second shot at the seat. Last year, he drew 34% of the vote against Connolly in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.
While Walkinshaw has denounced Trump and his agenda, Van Meter said he is “110%” behind the president.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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