Walkinshaw Claims VA’s 11th Congressional District, Keeping Seat Blue

Updated at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — James Walkinshaw will keep the 11th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives blue, with the Democrat pledging that he will help end the "reckless Trump agenda" starting Wednesday.

Unofficial returns from the Virginia Elections Office showed Walkinshaw had 74.8% of the vote to 25% for Republican Stewart Whitson with all 175 precincts counted.

Walkinshaw once served as an aide to the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May while in office.

"Northern Virginians have sent a very powerful message. The reckless Trump agenda must come to an end," Walkinshaw, told gathered supporters Tuesday night. "Tonight's victory is just the beginning. And as I have said throughout this campaign, I am ready to fight for you on day one."

"But as grateful as I am tonight, I know that the work ahead of us is urgent. Donald Trump continues to violate our constitution each and every day, DOGE has needlessly put thousands of our neighbors out of work while denigrating their service to our nation. Donald Trump's tariffs are driving up costs for hard-working Virginians, and the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill will strip healthcare from millions. This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump's reckless agenda," he said.

The win by the Virginia Democrat has national implications, narrowing the GOP majority in the House to six.

Whitson put out a statement shortly before 9 p.m. that said in part: "While the outcome tonight is not what we hoped, I could not be more proud of the campaign we ran and the movement we built together. From day one, this campaign was about service, giving the people of Northern Virginia a voice, and fighting for the change our community deserves."

He congratulated Walkinshaw and thanked every voter who participated in the election, and his family for their support.

“I have spent my life serving and defending the people and causes I care about, and I will continue to do so in whatever way God has planned for me next," Whitson said. "My commitment to this community, this Commonwealth, and this country will never waver.”

Walkinshaw told supporters, "This is the beginning of a new chapter, because tomorrow morning, I'll wake up and head to the Capitol start fighting for our community, but I need you to wake up ready to fight too, to elect Abigail Spanberger and our incredible Democratic ticket this November. Then we have to wake up the day after that ready to fight for a Democratic Congress in 2026 because that is the only way to end this chaos and begin the hard work of fixing this country."

He took aim at President Trump's executive orders and legislative agenda.

"His mass deportation agenda, rather than focusing on a small number of people who commit violent crimes, has mass agents tackling delivery drivers on mopeds and dragging roofers off of construction sites," Walkinshaw said. "He claims to care about crime, but he pardoned the criminals who attacked our capitol and police officers, including police officers from right here in Fairfax County, on Jan. 6.

"By the way, his budget that Republicans are now trying to ram through the House — that's $1 billion from federal support to local law enforcement and violence intervention. This administration is the most corrupt in American history," the freshman lawmaker said. "Donald Trump has turned the Oval Office into a tacky, gold-plated showroom for his money, making schemes, selling access and special favors to the highest bidders, and because of these failed policies and misguided priorities, the growing economy that Trump inherited is now sputtering. Unemployment is up, job growth is down and inflation is rising. … If we work together across our Commonwealth and across our nation, we will prove once again that democracy is stronger than demagogues and hope is stronger than hate. Thank you all. Let's get to work."

Fairfax County Board Chairman Jeff McKay (D-At-Large), told Patch at the Walkinshaw results party that "There is righteous anger about what's happening in Washington, D.C., and I think what you're going to see today is Fairfax County express their righteous anger in this election.

"Not only is this a problem for our particular county, but is it is morally wrong," McKay said. "It is anti-democratic. It is unprecedented in our country, the things that are happening just across the river. Our people here pay close attention to that, and they're not having it."

Refresh this story to see unofficial results as they become available from the Virginia Elections Office.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report placed the district firmly in the Democratic category. Walkinshaw, who had served as Connolly’s chief of staff, is considered the favorite to win Tuesday's race, The Hill reported.

With Connolly’s death, and three other vacancies in the U.S. House, the Republicans had a 219-212 majority in the chamber, The Hill said. A Walkinshaw victory would narrow the GOP majority with the House about to take up the federal budget and other contentious legislation.

President Donald Trump is also the focus of Tuesday's special election, says FOX News, since federal jobs cuts implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency, immigration, transgender policies, and the push to release the Justice Department's files on the late convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein are also in the spotlight.

The contenders have campaigned on differing approaches to crime in the county, the impact of President Donald Trump's cuts to the federal workforce, and supporting police.

Legislative Priorities Shared By Candidates

The candidates shared their legislative priorities at an Aug. 18 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area.

The topics discussed ranged from reversing President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's job cuts and preserving Medicaid funding, as well as restoring public safety and reducing taxes to spur economic growth.

You can view the full video of the candidate forum.

Moderator Catherine White asked both candidates to share their top two legislative priorities and explain why they are so important.

James Walkinshaw: Top 2 Legislative Priorities

“My top two legislative priorities are stopping the reckless Trump administration DOGE job cuts, and then rebuilding a federal government that works for us all. We have 80,000 federal workers right here in Fairfax, and every single night, families are sitting around their dinner table, and mom and dad are wondering how they will pay the mortgage, how they will afford groceries, because their job has been recklessly eliminated.

“They aren't firing low performers. DOGE and the Trump administration are indiscriminately firing federal workers, canceling and pausing contracts for small businesses, including veteran-owned small businesses in our community. So, legislative priority number one for me will be putting a stop to that.

“After that, we will have to rebuild from the damage that's been done. That means working agency by agency to undo what's taken place and build back even better. And I think with the incredible talent that we have here in Northern Virginia, in our community, getting those folks back into federal agencies where they belong, we can do that.

“I’m in the middle of drafting legislation that would require any president, Democrat or Republican, to come to Congress before they can restructure or downsize federal agencies in a significant way, the way that the Trump administration has done. I’ll introduce that on day one.”

Stewart Whitson: Top 2 Legislative Priorities

“My top two priorities would be, first and foremost, restoring public safety, and second, empowering parents. I put public safety first on purpose, because if we don't feel safe in our communities, in our schools and on our streets, then nothing else matters.

"My opponent has a history of soft on crime policies and other efforts that have actually made us less safe in our community. He's focused on sanctuary city policy, which has encouraged people to come into our district who shouldn't be here, violent criminals who are bringing crime.

“He's also defunded the police. There was a time when crime was on the rise in Fairfax County, we were short 200 law enforcement officers, and my opponent voted to give himself a $30,000 pay raise, and in the most recent budget in Fairfax County, he voted to eliminate 63 law enforcement officers. This is the wrong approach.

“My approach instead would be to work with federal agencies to help promote joint task forces with states to focus on violent crime. I'd also strengthen criminal laws to make sure that the most violent criminals are taken off the streets and kept off the streets.

“Recently, we had an abduction in plain daylight at Fair Oaks Mall. This was a person that had 30 prior convictions, and he was released with no bail. That is a big problem. That's something we have to stop, and so that's something I'll be committed with.”

Although the 11th District is located entirely in Fairfax County, not all residents reside in the district.

Five Fairfax County polling places were closed in the special election: Mason Governmental Center, McLean Governmental Center, Mount Vernon Governmental Center, Thomas Jefferson Library and Tysons-Pimmit Library.

As of Sept. 1, there were nearly 568,000 registered voters in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. Voters in Virginia do not register by party.

Turnout in the district was 52% of registered voters in the 2022 midterm election and 71% in the 2024 general election. Ballots cast before Election Day made up about 34% of total votes in 2022 and about 57% in 2024.

As of Wednesday, more than 48,000 ballots had been cast before Election Day, about 52% by mail and the rest in person at early voting locations.

Also See ...

• Stopping DOGE Job Cuts, Public Safety Top Priorities In Congressional Race
• Immigration, Climate Change, School Funding Debated During Reston Forum
• 11th District GOP Candidates Spent Half Of Money Raised For Primary
• $2.2M Spent By Democrats In 11th District Congressional Primary
• Stewart Whitson Running For Congress To Listen, Represent Voters' Values
• Opposing Trump Policies Reason Walkinshaw Seeks To Succeed Connolly In Congress
• Independent Candidate Not On Ballot In 11th District Race
• Democrats Announce Winner Of 11th District Firehouse Primary
• Stewart Whitson Wins GOP Canvass In 11th District Race
• Virginia Congressman Dies After Cancer Diagnosis