Democratic leaders urge voters to support Walkinshaw in special election Sept. 9
With just three days before the special election, congressional and state leaders came out in force at a rally in support of Democratic congressional candidate James Walkinshaw.
Walkinshaw, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is running to represent Virginia’s 11th District. That seat has been vacant since Rep. Gerry Connolly died in May.
The special election, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, pits Walkinshaw against the Republican candidate and Trump ally, Stuart Whitson. The winner is expected to be sworn in shortly after.
Underscoring the importance of this election, the rally, on Sept. 6 in Vienna, drew candidate for governor Abigail Spanberger, attorney general candidate Jay Jones, Sen. Mark Warner, and Rep. Don Beyer, along with other members of Congress and state lawmakers.
It isn’t enough for Walkinshaw to win, said Spanberger. “He must win with crushingly large numbers,” which will set the stage for Democratic wins in November and the 2026 midterms.
Related story: Democrats anticipate a record-breaking win
Jones lauded Walkinshaw for understanding the community and putting working families first.
“We have to put people first. We have to put Virginia first,” he said. But Jones’ opponent, current attorney general, Jason Miyares, “would rather put Donald Trump first.”
“There is one thing my Republican opponent and I agree upon – that there is a very clear choice in this race,” Walkinshaw said.
“He supports Trump’s ‘big ugly bill,’ a piece of legislation that will kick 17 million Americans off their healthcare coverage, drive up utility bills for the average family here in Virginia by $400 a year, and that quite literally will take food off the tables of hardworking families.”
“He supports it. I want to repeal it.”
“My opponent says we should make DOGE permanent,” Walkinshaw said. “I want to go to Congress and defund DOGE and end DOGE.”
Related story: Whitson and Walkinshaw disagree on everything
Sen. Mark Warner spoke about how his planned visit with federal intelligence agencies was cancelled after MAGA influencer Laura Loomer attacked him in a tweet, “because I had the audacity to think people who are detained still have basic due process rights.”
“We’ve already seen this administration undercut Congress’ power of the purse,” Warner said. “If they can also wipe away our ability to do oversight, all of the fears we have should be exponentially higher. We must put an end to this.”
Also, he said, when Walkinshaw gets sworn in, “we are one step closer to getting the Epstein files released.”
“We lost the vote on the ‘big ugly bill’ by one vote. James’ vote is going to be critical,” said Rep. Eugene Vindman, “We have an opportunity as Virginians to show the nation, to show the world that we are not okay with what this administration is doing.”