James Walkinshaw wins Democratic contest to likely replace US Rep. Connolly in northern Virginia
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Democrats and Republicans chose candidates in northern Virginia on Saturday who will vie to replace the late U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat who served the congressional district in the Washington suburbs for 16 years.
Democrats chose James Walkinshaw, who currently serves on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — which oversees the local budget and policies. Republicans picked Stewart Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI agent.
The candidates will compete in a special election on Sept. 9 to represent Virginia's 11th Congressional District, which is home to more than 700,000 people and includes Fairfax, Reston and Vienna.
Political observers have said that the district's Democratic primary likely will determine Connolly's successor in what has become a reliably Democratic district.
Connolly, who most recently held a prominent position as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, died last month after battling esophageal cancer. The 75-year-old's death left House Republicans with a 220-212 majority in Congress.
The so-called 'firehouse primaries' for the special election were run by the political parties, not local governments or the Virginia Department of Elections, according to Fairfax County's website.
Walkinshaw, who previously served as Connolly's chief of staff for more than a decade, was viewed as the frontrunner leading up to the Democratic primary. He had received Connolly's endorsement before the congressman passed away. Walkinshaw bested 9 other candidates for the Democratic nomination.
'I'm honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I've spent my career serving,' Walkinshaw said in a written statement posted to X on Saturday. 'This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.'
The Republican nominee, meanwhile, said in a statement that it was 'time to fight' to flip the seat.
'With President Trump back in office he's taking bold and aggressive action to get the country back on track,' Whitson said. 'But he needs strong allies in Congress who will help him fix the economy, protect our families, and restore common sense.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Turkish police detain over 50 people in crackdown on Istanbul Pride march
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities detained over 50 people attempting to march for Istanbul Pride on Sunday as part of its decade long crackdown on the event. A heavy police presence in hot spots around the city prevented significant gathering, and the organization had to change the gathering location multiple times.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Turkish police detain over 50 people in crackdown on Istanbul Pride march
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities detained over 50 people attempting to march for Istanbul Pride on Sunday as part of its decade long crackdown on the event. A heavy police presence in hot spots around the city prevented significant gathering, and the organization had to change the gathering location multiple times. Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of the LGBTQ+ rights organization and the journal Kaos GL, wrote on X that 54 people were detained at Istanbul Pride, including six lawyers. As of Sunday evening, seven had been released and 47 were still in detention. The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, or DISK, announced that at least three journalists were among the detained. 'The palace regime will not be able to stay in power by demonizing the LGBTQ community,' said Kezban Konukcu, Member of Parliament from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, who participated in the event. Once boasting tens of thousands of participants, Istanbul Pride has been banned since 2015 as the religious conservative Justice and Development Party began playing up to the more conservative elements of its base.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Republican senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. debt load, CBO says
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, speaks to reporters following closed-door party meetings at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON — The changes made to U.S. President Donald Trump's big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4 to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his self-imposed July 4th deadline. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December have already been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500 billion. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional scoring system, the Republican bill bill would violate the Senate's 'Byrd Rule' that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, CBO Director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the Finance Committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring. Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press
