More candidates emerge for Congress
Three more Democrats have launched campaigns for Gerry Connolly’s former seat in Congress:
- Leo Martinez, a former member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, launched his campaign for the 11th district on May 29. He immigrated to the U.S. after being persecuted by the government for standing up to a repressive regime.
- Amy Roma is an attorney focusing on energy policy. She spoke at numerous U.S. climate summits and led humanitarian missions.
- Josh Aisen is a Navy veteran who is focused on fighting attacks on the Constitution. “If we lose our country to fascism, then nothing else matters,” he says.
They are joining the previously announced Democratic candidates: Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw, state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, and Planning Commission member Candace Bennett.
The election, originally scheduled for the 2026 midterms, will happen, earlier as the death of Connolly on May 21 means the seat needs to be filled through a special election.
Related story: Connolly is remembered as a champion for federal workers
Under Virginia law, it’s up to the governor to schedule a special election, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin has not yet done so. State law also stipulates that a special election must be held on a Tuesday and cannot be held within 55 days before a general or primary election.
The Virginia Democrats’ 11th Congressional District Committee is expected to hold a “firehouse primary,” also known as an “unassembled caucus,” to choose a nominee, says committee member and former chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee Bryan Graham.
Democratic voters would vote in-person at several locations – possibly up to 10 – in the district. The date would be set after Youngkin schedules the special election.
The only Republican in the running for the 11th District so far is Mike Van Meter, a former police officer in Washington, D.C., a former FBI officer, and a current substance abuse counselor. Van Meter ran against Connolly in 2024, getting just 33 percent of the vote.
Chandra Tamirisa is also running for the 11th District as an independent.
Walkinshaw recently announced endorsements from Rep. Don Beyer, former Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, and every Democratic member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, among others.
At her official campaign launch on June 1, Pekarsky said, “We have to stand up and be loud.” We have to build coalitions “to stop Trump’s extreme agenda in its tracks.”
Pekarksky vowed to stand up for a ban on assault weapons, for immigrants who deserve a pathway to citizenship, for preserving environmental protection, for real action on the climate crisis, for federal workers, and for retaining Social Security and Medicaid benefits.
“And most important,” she said, “I will stand up and be loud for our democracy, which is under attack daily by this administration.”
Pekarsky’s family immigrated to Northern Virginia from Greece when she was young. She was enrolled in the English as a Second Language program and, after graduating from George Mason University, became an ESL teacher herself.
A mom of six children, she and her husband operated an air charter company for 18 years. In 2019, she unseated a Republican to represent the Sully seat on the Fairfax County School Board. Then in 2024, she won an election for the Virginia Senate representing the 36th District (Centreville).
One of her key accomplishments in the Senate was passing a consumer protection bill to eliminate junk fees on purchases for things like concert tickets. When the bill takes effect July 1, “those undisclosed, pesky little fees will be gone forever,” she said.
The 11th Congressional District includes the part of Annandale outside the beltway, along with Great Falls, Centerville, Springfield, and Lorton.
