2025 Virginia's 11th congressional district special election


A special election to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 11th congressional district was held on September 9, 2025. The seat became vacant following the death of Democrat Gerry Connolly on May 21, 2025. The district was considered safely Democratic.
Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary with 59% of the vote, defeating Irene Shin and Stella Pekarsky. Stewart Whitson, a former FBI agent, won the GOP primary with 39% of the vote. In the general election, Walkinshaw outraised Whitson by $1 million to $224 thousand.
In the September 9 general election, Walkinshaw defeated Whitson by roughly 50 percentage points, a significant leftward shift from 2024 [United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia#District 11|2024].

Background

Incumbent representative Gerry Connolly died of esophageal cancer on May 21, 2025. Connolly had previously announced that he would not seek re-election in 2026. He was first elected in 2008 [United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia|2008], and had announced his cancer diagnosis shortly after being re-elected in 2024. 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.
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 [United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia#District 11|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.

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 United States|ranked-choice voting] in the primary. 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.
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. Walkinshaw told Virginia Scope the complaints were candidates "trying to work the refs."
On June 24, Connolly's social media accounts posted messages of support for Walkinshaw, causing shock and controversy on social media.

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Debates and forums



Republican primary

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

Candidates

Nominee

  • Stewart Whitson, government relations professional

Eliminated in primary

  • Nathan Headrick, banking executive
  • Karina Lipsman, systems engineer and nominee for in 2022
  • Arthur Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance
  • Lucas Rand, hospital administrator
  • Mike Van Meter, behavioral therapist and nominee for this district in 2024
  • Sam Wong, U.S. Army veteran

Independents

Failed to qualify

  • Chandrashekar Tamirisa, sustainability leader

General election

Results

By county and independent city