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James Walkinshaw

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James Walkinshaw
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 9, 2025[a]
Preceded byGerry Connolly
Member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from the Braddock district
In office
January 1, 2020 – September 10, 2025
Preceded byJohn Cook
Succeeded byRachna Sizemore Heizer
Personal details
BornJames Robert Walkinshaw
(1982-10-22) October 22, 1982 (age 44)
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseYvette Peña
Children1
EducationNew York University (BA)
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website
  1. ↑ Walkinshaw's official service begins on the date of the special election, while he was not sworn in until September 10, 2025.[1]

James Robert Walkinshaw (born October 22, 1982)[2] is an American politician and former congressional aide serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district since September 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from the Braddock District from 2020 until his resignation in 2025.[3]

A native of Northern Virginia, Walkinshaw began a political career in the late 2000s. From 2009 to 2019, he served as the chief of staff to U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly. In 2019, he was elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and re-elected in 2023.

When Connolly announced his retirement from Congress in 2025, he endorsed Walkinshaw to succeed him. Connolly died from cancer shortly afterwards, and Walkinshaw became the party's nominee for the special election to finish his term.[4] Walkinshaw won the special election on September 9, 2025, defeating Republican Stewart Whitson.

Early life and education

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Walkinshaw was born in 1982 in Arlington County, Virginia and grew up in Prince William County.[5] He graduated from New York University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in politics.[5]

Early political career

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Following his graduation from New York University, Walkinshaw became involved in Democratic politics in Northern Virginia, managing Gerry Connolly's 2007 campaign for Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Connolly's successful 2008 campaign for the United States House of Representatives.[6] Walkinshaw served as Connolly's chief of staff from 2009 until 2019.[7][8][9]

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

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In 2019, Walkinshaw was elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, succeeding John C. Cook to represent the Braddock District.[3] He chaired the Board's Legislative Committee and Environmental Committee, the VRE Operations Board, and the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board.[10] He was re-elected in 2023.[11]

During his tenure on the board, Walkinshaw pushed for Fairfax County to transition its vehicle fleet to electric or hybrid vehicles, supported a prohibition on firearms in county buildings, and helped advance the county's first collective-bargaining ordinance. He also worked to advance a long-delayed project to install solar panels at a county landfill in Lorton, including securing the state legislative approval required for the project.[12]

Walkinshaw represented Fairfax County on the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board beginning in 2020. He served as the board's vice chair and as chair of its Access for All Advisory Committee in 2024, and was elected chair of the Transportation Planning Board for 2025.[13]

U.S. House of Representatives (2025–present)

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2025 U.S House campaign

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Walkinshaw speaking at a Democratic forum in the primary

In April 2025, Representative Gerry Connolly announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026 due to health concerns.[14] Smitty Connolly, his wife, publicly shared that Connolly had asked to meet with Walkinshaw following his decision to not seek reelection, and asked him to consider running to succeed him. Smitty confirmed that Connolly had asked his long-time chief of staff to run for Congress after learning that his cancer had returned.[15] Walkinshaw announced his candidacy later that week, and Connolly endorsed him.[16] On May 21, 2025, Connolly died from esophageal cancer, and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin announced a special election to fill the seat, set for September 9, 2025.[17]

The Democratic Party selected its nominee in the race through a firehouse primary on June 28, 2025. The primary drew criticism from some candidates, including Stella Pekarsky and Irene Shin, who said that the compressed timeline and decision to not use ranked-choice voting gave Walkinshaw an unfair advantage.[18][19] Despite criticism over the timing, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) pushed back, emphasizing that the election calendar and format was largely shaped by constraints set in motion by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Under Virginia law, special elections must take place on a Tuesday and at least 55 days before a regularly scheduled primary or general election. With statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general set for November 4, Youngkin selected the latest Tuesday available within that legal window for the special election.

The FCDC Chair acknowledged the challenges of holding a primary during the height of summer travel but expressed confidence that turnout would remain high. He pointed to the strong Democratic performance in the State-wide Democratic primary the previous Tuesday.[20]

The VA-11 2025 Democratic firehouse primary was the most participated-in special primary in Virginia's history, with 37,264 votes.[21]

In the final days before the Democratic primary, Connolly's official campaign and social media accounts, which had been inactive since his death, shared endorsements for Walkinshaw.[22][23] The posts sparked additional criticism from commentators and rival campaigns who questioned the ethics of using Connolly's online persona for campaign purposes.[24][25][26][27][28]

A spokesperson for the Walkinshaw campaign stated that the campaign does not control or direct content shared from Gerry Connolly's official accounts. He noted that Supervisor Walkinshaw had received Congressman Connolly's endorsement prior to his death and currently has the support of the Connolly family.[29]

Walkinshaw won a 10-candidate Democratic primary race for the seat with 60% of the vote on June 28, 2025.[30][31][4][32] He defeated Republican Stewart Whitson by approximately 50 percentage points in the general election on September 9.[33][34] Walkinshaw was sworn in the following day.[35]

Tenure

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Shortly after taking office in September 2025, Walkinshaw assumed lead sponsorship of four federal-workforce bills previously sponsored by his predecessor, Gerry Connolly. The measures included the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act, which proposed annual pay increases for federal employees; the Equal COLA Act, concerning cost-of-living adjustments for federal retirees; the Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, which would expand fertility-treatment coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; and the Saving the Civil Service Act, which sought to restrict the creation of new federal job schedules that remove civil-service protections without congressional approval.[36]

In February 2026, Walkinshaw, Representative Steny Hoyer, and Senator Chris Van Hollen launched the Federal Workforce Caucus, a bicameral caucus focused on federal workforce issues and the merit-based civil service.[37]

Walkinshaw has also worked on federal information technology and cybersecurity oversight. In June 2026, he and Republican representative Don Bacon introduced legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on gaps preventing the department from fully meeting federal event-logging requirements. That month, Walkinshaw also outlined proposals to resume and modernize the FITARA scorecard, strengthen federal cybersecurity and technology oversight, and address the use of artificial intelligence in federal agencies.[38]

Committee assignments

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Walkinshaw's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:

Caucus memberships

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Political positions

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Economic issues

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Walkinshaw opposes the tariff and trade policies of the second Trump administration. He has also criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying that over 320,000 Virginians would lose healthcare access as a result of the bill and that he would work to repeal the bill.[42]

Education

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Walkinshaw says that curriculum decisions "are made and should be made at the local and to some degree state level" and has dismissed claims that the United States Department of Education determines curriculum in local school districts. He opposes President Donald Trump's efforts to "dismantle" the Department of Education.[42]

Federal workers

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Walkinshaw represents the 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia, which is home to a large number of federal workers.

Walkinshaw denounced Trump's cuts at federal agencies, saying federal workers are "under attack" by the administration. He believes Congress should launch aggressive investigations against the second Trump administration through independent inspectors general and the Government Accountability Office to uncover the extent of the damage done to the federal government and federal workforce.[42]

Foreign policy

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James Walkinshaw answering a question about Gaza

Walkinshaw supports providing aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. He has criticized Trump's "on-again-off-again support" for Ukraine and called it beneficial to Russia and harmful to America's European allies.[42]

Walkinshaw has described Israel as a "key U.S. ally strategically" and supports maintaining U.S. military assistance to the country. However, he has also called for a ceasefire to its war in Gaza and criticized the country for blocking humanitarian aid to the territory.[42] In 2026, he voted against an amendment by Thomas Massie to a State Department appropriations bill to eliminate all regularly appropriated US aid to Israel, but stated that he supported conditioning military aid for Israel.[43]

Walkinshaw believes that diplomacy is essential in preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons. He called the Trump administration's military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites "unconstitutional".[42]

Walkinshaw says Trump is "on the right path" when it comes to challenging China's economic power, but is not "addressing it in a strategic way." He objects to Trump's trade and tariff policies but agrees with his argument that China "has been operating unfairly within the global trade and economic regime for a long time".[42]

Immigration

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Walkinshaw opposes the immigration policy of the second Trump administration, saying that "Trump's agenda to terrorize and deport law-abiding families is a distraction from focusing on the small number who commit violent crimes". He supports comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship.[42]

Abortion

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Walkinshaw is pro-choice.[42]

Personal life

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Walkinshaw lives in Annandale, Virginia[44] with his wife, Yvette Peña and their son.[10]

Electoral history

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2025 Virginia 11th congressional district special Democratic primary[45]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Walkinshaw 22,537 59.67%
Democratic Irene Shin 5,613 14.23%
Democratic Stella Pekarsky 5,271 13.36%
Democratic Amy Roma 2,807 7.12%
Democratic Dan Lee 734 1.86%
Democratic Leopoldo Martínez Nucete 533 1.35%
Democratic Amy Papanu 415 1.05%
Democratic Priya Punnoose 241 0.61%
Democratic Candice Bennett 199 0.50%
Democratic Ross William Branstetter IV 25 0.06%
Total votes 39,444 100.00%
2025 Virginia 11th congressional district special general election[46]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Walkinshaw 113,596 75.14
Republican Stewart Whitson 37,297 24.67
Write-in 287 0.19
Total votes 151,180 100.00

References

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  1. ↑ "House Vacancies and Successors – 119th Congress (2025–2027)". Historian of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Incoming Rep. James Walkinshaw - Biography | LegiStorm". Legistorm. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "About Supervisor Walkinshaw | Board of Supervisors - Braddock". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Armus, Teo; Balachandar, Daranee; Vozzella, Laura; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan; Schneider, Gregory S. (June 28, 2025). "Walkinshaw wins Virginia primary to replace Rep. Connolly, his former boss". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Woolsey, Angela (December 21, 2018). "Connolly chief of staff sets sights on Braddock District supervisor". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Gerry Connolly for Congress". gerryconnolly.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Democrats' pick to replace Rep. Connolly wants to carry forward his legacy". The Washington Post.
  8. ↑ "Gerry Connolly backs former chief of staff to fill his Northern Virginia seat". POLITICO. May 6, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Congressional Salaries of James Walkinshaw | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Meet James Walkinshaw". James Walkinshaw Democrat for Congress. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  11. ↑ "2023 Board of Supervisors General Election Fairfax County - Braddock". Virginia Department of Elections. November 7, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  12. ↑ Armus, Teo (June 30, 2025). "Democrats' pick to replace Rep. Connolly wants to carry forward his legacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Transportation Planning Board elects Fairfax County's James Walkinshaw to serve as 2025 chair". Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. January 2, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Rep. Gerry Connolly backs former aide to succeed him in Congress". The Washington Post.
  15. ↑ @JaredSerre (June 14, 2025). "Catherine "Smitty" Smith, the wife of the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, speaks about the relationship that Gerry had with #VA11 candidate James Walkinshaw. "James was Gerry's son."" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  16. ↑ "Fairfax County Supervisor To Run For Connolly's Seat In Congress". Burke, VA Patch. May 6, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Governor Glenn Youngkin Sets Special Election for Virginia's 11th Congressional District". www.governor.virginia.gov. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  18. ↑ vascope (June 20, 2025). "Walkinshaw's frontrunner status sparks debate over fairness in Virginia's 11th Congressional District Primary". Virginia Scope. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  19. ↑ Armus, Teo; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan; Vozzella, Laura; Schneider, Gregory S. (June 23, 2025). "Virginia Democrats' race to replace Rep. Connolly is a weeks-long sprint". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  20. ↑ Kerley, Andrew. "Walkinshaw's frontrunner status sparks debate over fairness in Virginia's 11th Congressional District Primary". Virginia Scope. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  21. ↑ OConnell, Michael (June 29, 2025). "Editor". Patch.
  22. ↑ "Gerry Connolly's post". Facebook.
  23. ↑ Solender, Andrew (June 24, 2025). "Dead congressman promotes candidate for his seat on social media". Axios. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  24. ↑ Nitzberg, Alex (June 25, 2025). "Dead congressman's social media accounts resurrected to boost former chief of staff's congressional bid". Fox News. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Dead members of Congress can't stop posting". POLITICO. June 28, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  26. ↑ Lotz, Avery (June 30, 2025). "Late lawmaker posts raise questions about digital life after death". Axios. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  27. ↑ Weigel, David (June 27, 2025). "Virginia congressman's posthumous endorsement adds a new twist to Democratic age struggles". Semafor. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  28. ↑ Manchester, Julia (June 24, 2025). "Deceased lawmaker's social media urges support for former aide in Virginia special election". The Hill. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  29. ↑ Ewing, Giselle (June 28, 2025). "Dead members of Congress can't stop posting". Politico.com. Politico. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Virginia's 11th Congressional District special election, 2025 (June 28 Democratic firehouse primary)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  31. ↑ McIntire, Mary Ellen (June 29, 2025). "James Walkinshaw wins Democratic nod in Virginia special election". Roll Call. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  32. ↑ "James Walkinshaw wins Democratic contest to likely replace US Rep. Connolly in northern Virginia". AP News. June 29, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  33. ↑ "2025 Virginia 11th Congressional District Special Election Results". AP News. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Election Results". enr.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  35. ↑ Freking, Kevin (September 10, 2025). "House swears in its newest member". Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  36. ↑ Wagner, Erich (September 19, 2025). "Virginia lawmaker takes over advocacy for federal workforce bills". Government Executive. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Lawmakers form new caucus to advocate for federal workforce reforms". Federal News Network. February 4, 2026. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  38. ↑ DiMolfetta, David; Graham, Edward; Kelley, Alexandra; Wilkers, Ross (June 30, 2026). "Lawmaker warns of administration's 'fetishization' of Silicon Valley startups". Nextgov/FCW. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Following in His Mentor Gerry Connolly's Footsteps, New Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Appointed to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform". Blue Virginia. September 17, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. September 11, 2025.
  41. ↑ Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus [@officialcapac]; (November 18, 2025). "CAPAC is thrilled to welcome @rep_walkinshaw as an Associate Member!" – via Instagram.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gelman, Scott (July 10, 2025). "Candidates running for Virginia Rep. Connolly's seat weigh in on key issues". WTOP-FM. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  43. ↑ Vafai, Keyian (August 27, 2026). "Are the College Democrats a Bellwether for 2028?". The American Prospect. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Walkinshaw launches congressional campaign". Annandale Today. June 16, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  45. ↑ "CD-11 UNOFFICIAL RESULTS". Google Docs. 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee. June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Virginia House Special Results 2025". AP. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
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