SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 (Prospect.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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TOM WILLIAMS\/CQ ROLL CALL VIA AP IMAGES<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, left, conducts a swearing-in ceremony with newly elected Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) in the U.S. Capitol after Walkinshaw was sworn in on the House floor, September 10, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA), the newest member of the 119th Congress, delivered his first remarks in the House. He shared that most of his Northern Virginia constituents know a federal worker who\u2019s lost their job. Without a major shift in current policies, Walkinshaw continued, \u201cfamilies everywhere will know someone who has lost their job because of the DOGE cuts, the tariffs, the budget bill, or our failure to address the rising costs on everything from groceries to rent to prescription drugs.\u201d These observations earned him a sizable helping of boos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presumably, he knew the job was dangerous when he took it. (Later, Speaker Mike Johnson tried to lighten the mood during a ceremonial swearing-in for the cameras, telling Walkinshaw, \u201cYou can have a long career here and a short drive home.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contest that sent Walkinshaw to Capitol Hill turned out to be billed as advertised. Republican Stewart Whitson ended up on the receiving end of a nearly 50-percentage-point beatdown<\/a> in the special election to replace Walkinshaw\u2019s mentor, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who died of esophageal cancer in May. The Associated Press called<\/a> the election for Walkinshaw 36 minutes after the polls closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More from Gabrielle Gurley<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Walkinshaw, a former county government official, had served as Connolly\u2019s chief of staff for a decade beginning in 2009. (Wondering how many chiefs of staff have moved up to the top slot? Bloomberg has the list<\/a>.) His political trajectory mirrored his boss\u2019s. Both men headed to Capitol Hill after serving on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the local governing body of the Northern Virginia suburb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The victory chipped away at the GOP margin in the House. Democrats now have 213 seats to the Republicans\u2019 219, no small thing in Capitol Hill\u2019s dysfunction junction. A September 23 special election in Arizona\u2019s Seventh Congressional District could send Adelita Grijalva, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors and daughter of the late Rep. Ra\u00fal Grijalva, who died in March, to Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virginia\u2019s 11th Congressional District, one of the wealthiest in the country, is home to an estimated 80,000<\/a> federal workers, about 13 percent of the Fairfax County workforce. Which meant that challenger Whitson, an Army combat veteran and former FBI special agent, came into the contest already headed into sacrificial lamb territory. Most voters didn\u2019t make the effort to cast a ballot. Turnout was just under 30 percent<\/a> in the district\u2019s two localities, Fairfax City and Fairfax County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walkinshaw talked a good game on the campaign trail, slamming the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on federal workers\u2019 civil service protections and benefits torpedoed by what he called \u201cthe big BS bill<\/a>.\u201d He has a long list of priorities<\/a>, from preventing domestic violence, to creating more affordable housing, to supporting Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of his issues, such as \u201ctackling climate change and protecting our environment\u201d and \u201cstrengthening our local economy and supporting innovation\u201d can conflict. The new representative\u2019s environmental credentials have been praised, most recently<\/a> by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). But Walkinshaw\u2019s acceptance of support<\/a> from a cryptocurrency PAC<\/a> and his own embrace<\/a> of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology reflect Northern Virginia\u2019s investments in increasingly controversial data centers that serve as the literal powerhouses for these state-of-the-art tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Fairfax County, most of its data centers are near homes<\/a>. Despite the healthy tax revenues that these facilities generate, growing numbers of residents in Fairfax County<\/a> and elsewhere in Virginia are pushing back<\/a> against the noise pollution, carbon emissions, and colossal water and energy usage that come with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Democratic Party leaders haven\u2019t had much to celebrate in the past eight and a half months, so they crowed about how Walkinshaw\u2019s victory contributed to a trend of \u201cmassive overperformance<\/a>\u201d in pivotal races this year. The trouble is that Democratic massive overperformance in a special election in a Democratic stronghold across the Potomac River from Washington is an indicator of, well, Democratic overperformance in a special election in a Democratic stronghold across the Potomac River from Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is, these strings of victories provide \u201cvibe checks\u201d of a particular place, at a particular time, and among a particular set of voters. Now, Democrats have seen gigantic swings in their direction in other special elections around the country. But these tend to be very low-turnout events that reflect the party\u2019s increasing appeal to hyper-engaged voters, rather than an indication of what will happen in a general election. Parsing these permutations of overperformance keeps data geeks and party officials happy, but shouldn\u2019t raise expectations about tsunamis anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the Walkinshaw-Whitson contest presages anything, it\u2019s the main event, the race for governor, between former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. One poll currently shows a closer fight with an important caveat: A Virginia Commonwealth University poll<\/a> released on Tuesday showed Spanberger ahead of Earle-Sears by nine percentage points, 49 percent to 40 percent\u2014down from a 12-percentage-point margin for the Democrat in July. Overall, 10 percent of respondents remain undecided. But almost half of independents, 48 percent, are undecided. Cost-of-living increases registered as the top issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early voting in Virginia begins September 19.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Prospect senior editor Gabrielle Gurley covers states and cities, focusing on economic development and infrastructure, elections, and climate. She wins awards, too, most recently a 2024 NABJ award for coverage of Baltimore. Follow @gurleygg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Virginia Special Election Shaves GOP House Margin Democrat James Walkinshaw triumphs in a ginormous victory. BY GABRIELLE GURLEY SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 (Prospect.org) TOM WILLIAMS\/CQ ROLL CALL VIA AP IMAGES Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, left, conducts a swearing-in ceremony with newly elected Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) in the U.S. Capitol… Continue reading GABRIELLE GURLEY<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n