Friend,

I’m James Walkinshaw — a proud father, lifelong Virginian, and the Democratic Nominee for the special election in Virginia’s 11th District. This is Democrats' FIRST chance to elect a Democrat to the House since the 2024 election, and I don’t take that lightly.

This campaign is personal to me.

I was born and raised in Northern Virginia. My grandfather grew up on a farm near where Dulles Airport stands today. And now, my wife Yvette and I are raising our son Mateo just down the road from where I grew up.

My mom was a nurse. My dad was a plumber. They taught me three lessons I’ve carried with me ever since: Work hard. Do the right thing — especially when it’s not easy. And never back down from a bully.

At 26, I got the opportunity of a lifetime: Congressman Gerry Connolly asked me to be his Chief of Staff. For more than a decade, I helped lead his team in Congress — including during Donald Trump’s first term. We passed the Affordable Care Act, secured major investments for Northern Virginia, and fought back against Trump’s attacks on immigrants, federal workers, and democracy itself.

Then in 2019, I flipped a Republican-held seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — and got to work.

I led the charge to ban guns from libraries and rec centers, stood up for abortion rights after the fall of Roe, funded record teacher pay increases, and delivered real action on climate change — from going solar to reducing plastic waste.

And when Trump’s enforcer, Stephen Miller, threatened to jail me for refusing to turn Fairfax police into ICE agents, I stood my ground. And I always will.

Now, I’m stepping up to run for Congress to keep this seat blue and be the FIRST (of many) Democrats elected to the House since Trump’s win in 2024.

But Republicans are eager to flip this seat from blue to red, and they’ve invested millions of dollars against me. I need my fellow Virginians to stand beside me now more than ever. 

Will you split a donation between my campaign and Ghazala Hashmi so we have the resources between now and September 9 to win this critical election?

Thank you for believing in the power of public service — and for believing in this campaign.

— James Walkinshaw

Email us: [email protected]

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Ghazala for Virginia
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