RICHMOND — Democrats and Republicans will choose their candidates for a vacant Northern Virginia seat in Congress by party-run processes on June 28 for a special election in the 11th Congressional District on Sept. 9.
Democrats will choose from a growing field that now includes nine candidates in a firehouse primary at multiple locations. Republicans plan a daylong canvass at a single site to pick from four announced candidates. A 14th candidate for the seat — opened by the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, on May 21 — has announced his candidacy as an independent.
Richmond-area voters witnessed similarly hastily organized party nomination processes in late 2023, a month after the sudden death of Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th. Democrats nominated then-state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, by a lopsided margin in a contentious four-way firehouse primary held on a Tuesday at four locations across a district that includes parts of 15 localities. Republicans nominated the Rev. Leon Benjamin in a five-hour canvass at a single location. McClellan defeated Benjamin easily in a special election two months later.
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Like the 4th, the 11th Congressional District is heavily Democratic, so the scramble has been especially intense for the party nomination. Connolly had announced in late April that he would not seek re-election next year because of the return of esophageal cancer, first diagnosed in November days after his re-election to a ninth term.
Connolly then endorsed his former congressional chief of staff, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw, to succeed him.
However, the field has grown considerably since then-State Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, a former Fairfax school board member who won her first term in the Virginia Senate in 2023, jumped into the race with endorsements from prominent state Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.
Fairfax County planning commissioner Candice Bennett declared her candidacy a few days before Connolly died.
Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax, recently jumped into the race for the seat representing Fairfax County and Fairfax City. She is one of two Korean American candidates, along with Dan Lee, an entrepreneur in health care technology.
Amy Papanu, a former 28-year federal employee and CIA operations officer, who also served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a foreign service officer, declared her candidacy last week.
The other Democratic candidates are: Vienna attorney Amy Roma, who touts her experience in law, energy and national security; Leo Martinez, a McLean lawyer and former member of the Venezuelan Congress; and Joshua Aisen, a former U.S. Navy officer and owner of a Springfield consulting firm that specializes in space and defense systems.
The 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee said candidates can file for the nomination from noon on Wednesday, June 11, through 5 p.m. on June 18. The party plans to hold early voting on June 26 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the firehouse primary on June 28, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The party is still finalizing locations for voting.
Republicans will hold a canvass vote on June 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fairfax High School. The candidates include: Mike Van Meter, who lost to Connolly last fall; Karina Lipsman, who lost to Rep. Donald Beyer, D-8th, in the adjacent 8th Congressional District in November; Nathan Headrick, director of a global real estate investment firm; and Lucas Rand, a hospital administrator and former U.S. Army officer for 20 years.
Chandra Tamirisa, an Oakton resident who describes himself as “a thought leader for global sustainability,” is running as a political independent.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin set a deadline of July 11 for candidates to file for the special election on Sept. 9.
