Democrat Wins Special Election For Virginia House Seat—Avoiding Costly GOP Flip

Topline

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D) was elected to replace the late Rep. Don McEachin (D) in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, making her the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress, and staving off Republicans’ hopes to flip the seat and expand their narrow House majority.

Key Facts

McClellan led Republican pastor Leon Benjamin 67.9% to 32.1% as of 7:30.

McEachin, who was first elected to Congress in 2016 following more than 20 years in Virginia’s General Assembly, died from secondary effects of his colorectal cancer November 28, weeks after he was re-elected for a fourth term, at the age of 61.

Benjamin and McClellan each won multi-way primaries in December to compete for the special election set by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in December.

Tangent

McClellan’s victory keeps the seat in Democratic hands, leaving Republicans with a narrow 222-213 majority in the House. An additional House seat would have given GOP leadership more room to maneuver, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struggles to keep the moderate and hard-right portions of his conference in line.

Key Background

McClellan, who has spent more than 17 years as a member of the Virginia state legislature, bested competition in a four-way primary for the Democratic nomination in December. She won more than 85% of the vote in a contest that netted record-high turnout for a party-run special election. McClellan, 49, earned prominent endorsements from McEachin’s wife, Colette McEachin, along with Democratic Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. Benjamin, a Navy veteran and pastor, won his party’s primary following double-digit losses to McEachin in the previous two general elections.

Big Number

64%. That’s the share of voters who cast their ballots for McEachin in the November midterm election, compared to 36% for Benjamin.

Further Reading

Virginia State Senator Likely To Make History As State’s First Black Congresswoman–Who Is Jennifer McClellan? (Forbes)