James Walkinshaw

James Robert Walkinshaw (born October 22, 1982) 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 to 2025.

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. Walkinshaw won the special election on September 9, 2025, defeating Republican Stewart Whitson.

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

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. Walkinshaw served as Connolly's chief of staff from 2009 until 2019.

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

In April 2025, Representative Gerry Connolly announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026 due to health concerns. 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. Walkinshaw announced his candidacy later that week, and Connolly endorsed him. 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.

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. 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.