Democrats and Republicans now have their candidates heading into a summertime special election to fill the seat vacated by the late Congressman Gerry Connolly.
James Walkinshaw will be the Democrat running in the special election to fill the seat of his old boss, Congressman Connolly. And Stewart Whitson will be the Republican on the ballot.
Former Republican Congressman Tom Davis used to represent this seat when it was a swing district, and he says Republicans will benefit from the timing of the special election on September 9th.
"I do think that probably the reason the governor set it in September was so that you would not increase turnout in November and help the Democratic ticket on a statewide basis," Davis says. "And you'd get the congressional race removed from the other race and take the attention from the national and move it to the state."
Leslie Byrne is a Democrat who represented this district in the early 90s, and she says Virginia's 11th congressional district is not just a bunch of white wine liberals.
"That's the thing that a lot of people don't understand is that the Bailey's Crossroads of the area and the Springfields of the area are like working class neighborhoods and they are solidly Democratic," Byrne says. "They like the job that Democrats do, and they just keep sending them back."
Democrats have 30-point advantage in this district, which is one of the most reliably blue in Virginia.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
