James Walkinshaw wins VA-11th special, narrows GOP margin

James Walkinshaw, a Democrat and longtime aide to the late Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, won Tuesday’s special election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, defeating Republican Stewart Whitson and taking a seat that had been left vacant by Connolly’s death in May. The Associated Press called the race at 7:36 p.m. Eastern, 36 minutes after polls closed, with Walkinshaw leading roughly 75 percent to 25 percent when the contest was called.

Walkinshaw, 42, a Fairfax County supervisor who served as Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade, had been the heavy favorite in the deep blue Washington suburban district that is home to a large federal workforce. Connolly endorsed his former aide shortly before announcing he would not seek another term and just weeks before he died of esophageal cancer. Walkinshaw won the Democratic nomination in June after a party-run primary and focused his campaign on defending federal employees amid job and funding cuts to agencies under the current administration.

“I hope to have a long career in Congress and to be a longterm champion for federal workers, just as Gerry Connolly was,” Walkinshaw said during the campaign, according to remarks...