Fairfax Supervisor James Walkinshaw and state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, officially announced they are running for Congress to fill the seat that Rep. Gerry Connolly is retiring from next year.
“Today, I’m proud to announce that I’m running for Congress in Virginia’s 11th District — to stop Trump’s dangerous agenda and build a government that works for all of us,” Walkinshaw said in his announcement Tuesday.
Walkinshaw has been endorsed by Connolly.
Pekarsky announced her campaign Wednesday morning.
“Fairfax needs a fighter to stand up to Donald Trump,” Pekarsky wrote. “He is dismantling our public schools, defying the courts, stripping us of our freedoms, and attacking our federal employees. But I refuse to back down to this criminal in the White House— That’s why I’m running for Congress.”
This nomination process will take more than a year, as primary elections take place in June 2026.
Connolly won reelection in 2024 by 34 points, making this a safe Democratic seat.
“After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned,” Connolly wrote in a statement last week, disclosing the health battle that shaped his decision not run for another term.
First elected to Congress in 2008, Connolly built his career advocating for federal workers and expanding public transportation in one of Virginia’s fastest-growing regions. Before that, he served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for more than a decade, including as chairman.
His departure marks the end of an era for Virginia’s 11th District — and opens the door to a wide-open race for Democrats in 2026.