Democrat James Walkinshaw will win a special election in Virginia’s eleventh Congressional District, NCS’s Decision Desk projects, bolstering Democratic numbers in the House and chopping down on an already slim Republican majority.
With Tuesday’s outcomes, House Speaker Mike Johnson will now solely have the ability to afford to lose two Republicans on party-line votes versus three.
The election in the eleventh Congressional District is being held to fill longtime Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly’s seat. Connolly died from cancer in May.
“Tonight, northern Virginians have sent a very powerful message: The reckless Trump agenda must come to an end,” Walkinshaw stated in remarks at his election evening get together on Tuesday.
Walkinshaw, Connolly’s former chief of staff and a Fairfax County supervisor, was closely favored. Walkinshaw confronted Republican Stewart Whitson, a army veteran and former FBI special agent at present working as a lobbyist.
Situated in the suburbs of Washington, DC, the district consists of a big swath of Fairfax County and is dwelling to 1000’s of federal employees. It voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump by 34 share factors in the 2024 election. Connolly sailed to reelection by that very same margin.
House Democrats hope so as to add again to their ranks after a string of member deaths has given the GOP some respiratory room with the get together’s slim majority in the chamber. Connolly was the third House Democrat to die whereas in workplace this yr after Reps. Sylvester Turner of Texas and Raul Grijalva of Arizona each died in March. Tennessee Republican Mark Green stepped down in July, placing the present House breakdown at 219 Republicans to 212 Democrats.
It’s doable all three of the Democratic vacancies will get stuffed earlier than Green is changed in December, placing extra stress on the slender GOP majority. The election to interchange Grijalva is ready for September 23, and the special election in Turner’s district is scheduled for November 4: Both seats are anticipated to remain in Democratic palms.
The arrival of these Democrats might imply a well timed benefit for House members trying to power a vote to launch the Jeffrey Epstein files. The bipartisan discharge petition led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna wants 218 signatures to maneuver ahead, and the congressmen preserve they’ve 216 votes to this point with out Walkinshaw and the possible Democratic Arizona member becoming a member of the chamber this month.
“We have the 218 votes. 216 already support it,” Khanna stated in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “There are two vacancies that haven’t been reported as much, but two Democrats are going to be joining, and they are both committed to signing it. That’s going to happen by the end of September.”
NCS’s Alison Main contributed to this report.
This story and headline have been up to date with further particulars.
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