On June 3, 2025, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) called a special election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District to be held Sept. 9, 2025. Incumbent Gerald Connolly (D) died on May 21, 2025.

Virginia law requires political parties to nominate their candidates 60 days before special elections, in this case by July 11. The 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee is holding a firehouse primary on June 28 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with early voting on June 24, 25, and 26 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Political parties, rather than the state government, conduct firehouse primaries, which have fewer polling sites and shorter voting hours. The primary is using plurality voting, in which the winner of an election is the candidate that received the highest number of votes.

As of June 9, nine people were running in the Democratic firehouse primary: Josh Aisen, Candice Bennett, Dan Lee, Leopoldo Martinez, Amy Papanu, Stella Pekarsky, Amy Roma, Irene Shin, and James Walkinshaw. The candidate list will be finalized on June 18.

The 11th Congressional District includes part of Fairfax County and Fairfax, Virginia. Punchbowl News’ Ally Mutnick wrote that the district “borders the Beltway … [and] … has more federal workers than any other except those with military bases, making it generally more establishment-friendly. Every candidate in the race will vow to take on Trump, but their styles differ. It’s a fascinating test of whether Democratic primary voters want someone more disruptive of the status quo or someone who adopts a more traditional approach.”

According to The Washington Post, before his death Connolly “sought to influence the outcome for his party by endorsing his former chief of staff, Fairfax County Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw (D-Braddock),” on May 7, 2025. Representative Don Beyer (D-Va.) and former Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) also endorsed Walkinshaw.

Democratic leaders within state government endorsed state Sen. Pekarsky (District 36), including Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D) and Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D).

At least two candidates describe themselves as alternatives to what they say are career, party-backed politicians. Shin, who represents District 8 in the House of Delegates, said, “This moment calls for generational change and leaders who actually understand the lived experiences of the people they represent.” Lee, a health-tech entrepreneur, said, “The conveyor belt of career politicians don’t know how to fight. … It’s time for the next generation of leaders who aren’t part of the elected class to step up and take action right now.”

Connolly represented the district from 2009 to 2025. A Republican was last elected to the district in 2006. Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+18. This means that in those two presidential elections, this district’s results were 18 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Virginia’s 11th Congressional District the 76th most Democratic district nationally.