Supervisor Walkinshaw is running for Congress

James Walkinshaw, the Braddock representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is running for Congress, for the seat currently held by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th District).

Connolly is not running for re-election due to health reasons. He announced April 28 that his esophageal cancer has returned, stating, “The sun is setting on my time in public service.”

The election is November 2026. It’s likely other candidates will step up, too.

Walkinshaw’s top priority is keeping “Trump’s agenda out of Northern Virginia,” he stated May 6 in his first fundraising email. “I’m running for Congress because this is a five-alarm fire moment for our democracy.”

Related story: Rep. Connolly will not seek re-election

If elected, Walkinshaw vows to:

• Protect reproductive freedom – no exceptions.
• Defend federal workers from political purges, illegal firings, and union-busting.
• Invest in public schools, expand affordable housing, and build an economy that works for everyone – not just billionaires.
• Fight to end gun violence, starting with banning assault weapons and expanding background checks.
• “And fight like hell to defend our Constitution from the greatest threat it has faced in generations.”

Walkinshaw was Connolly’s chief of staff for 10 years. “Gerry is more than a member of Congress. He is a dear friend and mentor who has made me a better person and public servant,” he said. While working for Connolly, he helped “fight back against Donald Trump’s attacks on immigrants, federal workers, and affordable healthcare.”

Connolly’s “impact on our community is immeasurable and he has never hesitated to do what’s right for the people he represents. No one can replace Gerry Connolly, but it will be up to all of us to continue the fight for our values,” Walkinshaw said.

When he was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, Walkinshaw flipped a Republican-held seat.

Among his accomplishments on the board, he cites banning guns from libraries and rec centers, implementing a red flag law to keep firearms out of the hands of abusers, reducing pollution through the plastic bag tax, leading efforts to curb climate change, fighting to raise teacher pay, and protecting abortion access.

“Trump’s henchman, Stephen Miller, even threatened to jail me for refusing to turn Fairfax police into his mass deportation force,” he said. “But I didn’t back down then – and I never will.”

Related story: A guide to the Democratic Primary

 “Donald Trump and his billionaire allies like Elon Musk are openly violating the Constitution, purging federal employees, and trying to destroy the institutions that hold our country together,” Walkinshaw said.

“Trump’s Republicans want to ban abortion nationwide,” he said. “They want to defund public schools, gut climate action, replace diversity with white supremacy, and put hand-picked right-wing cronies in charge of justice. They’re disappearing people to foreign prisons and deporting U.S. citizens.”

“Step one to stopping Trump is securing a big win for the Virginia Democratic ticket in 2025, and step two is taking back Congress in 2026,” he said. “Our campaign this year will be focused on building capacity and supporting the incredible Democrats on the ballot in Virginia this November.”