Democrats vying to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly in a deep-blue northern Virginia district are zeroing in on one issue: who can best take on President Donald Trump.
In his announcement video, former Connolly chief of staff and Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw said Trump officials threatened to throw him in jail, referring to letters sent to local officials in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions last December that threatened jail time for supporting and enforcing sanctuary laws.
State Sen. Stella Pekarsky’s launch video touts her Greek heritage, which she said helps her “stand up to Donald Trump.” And state Del. Irene Shin said Democrats are running the “same old tired plays” while Trump is “dismembering and defunding our government.”
Trump has played a key role in the race as Democrats go on the offensive over his mass deportation program and Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut the size of the federal government — in a district full of federal workers, where then-Vice President Kamala Harris beat Trump by 34 points last fall.
Democratic voters head to the polls Saturday following three days of early voting in a party-run special primary that started Tuesday. The winner will be a heavy favorite in the Sept. 9 special general election to fill the remainder of the two-year term Connolly won last year.
Walkinshaw earned an endorsement from Connolly in this race before he died. He said when he received the letter from top Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s legal group in late December, he “ripped it up and put it in the trash can.”
“I didn’t think it deserved a response,” he said.
Trump’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy has become a top issue in the federal worker-heavy district. Virginia’s 11th Congressional District has the fifth-most federal workers out of all 435, with nearly 52,000, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis of Census Bureau data.
“There’s a lot of stress and anxiety created by the reckless Trump administration actions, whether it’s DOGE or freezing of federal contracts or eliminating federal contracts,” Walkinshaw said.
Walkinshaw said his tenure as Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019 gave him an inside look into key policy battles, like the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and the first Trump administration’s effort to repeal it in 2017.
“I’ve been through these battles in Congress with the Trump administration before, and I think I’m best prepared to do it now on behalf of our district,” he said.
Pekarsky said her state Senate office started getting calls the week Trump took office in January from federal workers concerned about their job security.
“They didn’t know what they were going to do once DOGE came in there indiscriminately and just terrorize our federal workforce,” she said.
Pekarsky said she has a history of taking on “big” fights, pointing to her time on the Fairfax County School Board, where she said she “battled” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin over his teacher “snitch line” and other education issues.
“I know how to take on the big fights, but I know how to work with people as well, and I am somebody who just puts her head down and elevates the interests of my constituents above everything else,” she said.
Shin, a state delegate, said voters want “generational change” instead of “doing the same old thing over and over again” and that Democrats have to stand for more than just opposition to Trump.
Shin said there isn’t enough “contrast” between Democrats and Republicans, pointing to the House Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act as well as a resolution condemning the Boulder, Colorado, attack that included language expressing “gratitude” for ICE agents.
“Democrats standing up and saying we’re going to fight Trump is the bare minimum,” she said. “I think what voters are looking for is a vision for what comes afterwards.”
Shin said Congress should codify protections for federal workers so a “future president can’t come in and fire hundreds of thousands of people just on vibes.”
Other Democratic candidates include Amy Roma, an attorney; Leo Martínez, a former Venezuelan politician; Candice Bennett, a local planning commissioner; Amy Papanu, a former CIA operations officer; Dan Lee, a health care entrepreneur; Dr. Priya Punnoose, a psychiatrist; and Ross William Branstetter IV.
“Donald Trump is dismantling the government piece by piece. We need to stop him,” Roma said in the opening of her television ad.
Walkinshaw, Pekarsky and Shin are the only candidates to draw spending from outside groups. Fight for Virginia’s Future and the pro-crypto Protect Progress have spent $2.4 million supporting Walkinshaw. Save Democracy PAC has spent over $160,000 supporting Pekarsky, and People Over Monopolies has spent almost $184,000 supporting Shin.
Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg’s group Leaders We Deserve endorsed Shin, though a spokesperson for the group said it did not spend any money on the race due to the “short timeline.”
Walkinshaw leads the pack in high-profile endorsements. In addition to getting Connolly’s backing, Reps. Don Beyer and Eugene Vindman have endorsed Walkinshaw, as has former Rep. Jennifer Wexton.
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia, endorsed Shin. Pekarsky boasts endorsements from top state Senate Democrats Scott Surovell and Louise Lucas.
Republicans are holding their own canvass on Saturday to decide their nominee, who will be a heavy underdog in the special general election. Seven GOP candidates are running.
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