Democrats schedule firehouse primary for 11th congressional district
The 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee issued a “call to caucus,” scheduling a firehouse primary for Saturday, June 28, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., to select a Democratic nominee to fill the vacancy in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
The committee hasn’t yet scheduled voting locations for the firehouse primary.
To encourage greater participation, the committee has also scheduled an early voting day on Thursday, June 26, 3-8 p.m. Additional early voting dates and locations are under consideration, pending availability of resources.
The 11th Congressional District seat is vacant due to the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly last month. Gov. Glenn Youngkin scheduled the special election for Sept. 9 and set July 11 to file as a candidate.
Democratic candidates can file to qualify for the ballot from June 11, 12 p.m., through June 18 at 5 p.m.
Related story: Special election for Virginia’s 11th congressional district will be Sept. 9
So far, eight Democrats have launched campaigns for the 11th District:
- Josh Aisen, a Navy veteran who is focused on fighting attacks on the Constitution.
- Candace Bennett, an at-large member of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
- Leo Martinez, a former member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, who immigrated to the U.S. after being persecuted by the Venezuelan government for standing up to a repressive regime.
- Amy Papanu, a former CIA operations officer.
- Virginia Sen. Stella Pekarsky, a former member of the Fairfax County School Board.
- Amy Roma, an attorney focusing on energy policy.
- Del. Irene Shin, who represents the Herndon area in the General Assembly.
- James Walkinshaw, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors representing the Braddock District and former chief of staff for Connolly.
To qualify for the Democratic firehouse primary, candidates must submit a Declaration of Candidacy form, a petition signed by at least 150 voters residing in the 11th District, and a $6,990 fee (which is 4 percent of a member of Congress’s annual salary).
“Every campaign was contacted with the information about the call to caucus and the available forms, so you may see them out on the campaign trail collecting signatures,” said Manisha Singh, chair of the 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee. “We are excited to begin receiving candidate filings on Wednesday, and we hope every voter will engage with the candidates to learn more about them.”
