Virginia voters on Tuesday have been set to choose their congress candidate to succeed the deceased American representative Gerry Connolly, who fill an empty chair to represent a deep blue suburb of the DC area in a closely divided house.
In a special election in that of Virginia 11th Congress DistrictThe home base of more than 700,000 people, Democrat James Walkinshaw Will compete against Republican Stewart Whitson.
Republicans only have a razor blade in the house of delegates, and the results of the competition in what is seen as a reliable democratic district could be crucial for threatening spending fights that can lead to a government closure.
The special election can also serve as an indicator of how voters in Fairfax County, the home base of approximately 80,000 federal employees And thousands of federal contractors respond to the reforming of the White House of the government’s workforce.
Voters can find information about where and when to vote, plus control of their registration, using the Virginia Department of Elections’ Citizen Portal.
What about the candidates
Walkinshaw, who is in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Whitson, a veteran of the army and former FBI agent, were chosen in June as nominees of their parties through primaries.
Connolly, a pronounced democrat that sought important reforms in the federal government in May, died of esophageal cancer. In the months before his death, he was vocal about the clearing of President Donald Trump of the federal workforce, which had a unique way filled his district with employees.
Walkinshaw had previously served more than a decade as a staff chef from Connolly and had received the approval of the representative before his death. He beat nine other candidates for the Democratic nomination in June.
If chosen, Walkinshaw promised to fight attacks by the White House, especially against federal workers.
“Our community needs a member of the congress to fight against anyone attacking our community and someone with a record of delivering results,” said Walkinshaw during a debate in July.
Whitson is a political newcomer who works at the Foundation for Government Accountability, a DC-based conservative think tank. On the campaign track he praised his CV for Americans through the army and on Capitol Hill who argued for conservative policy.
He promised to defend tax and social conservative policy if chosen.
“With the support of my wife and the support of our children, I get up to support our community, because – guess – we can do better,” he said.
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