A special election to fill the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s now-open seat in Congress still hasn’t been officially ordered, but the number of Democrats seeking to stake a claim is now up to six.
Amy Roma, a Vienna resident and lawyer who specializes in energy policy, officially launched a campaign for the 11th Congressional District yesterday (Thursday) — the same day that Leopoldo Martínez, who’s also a lawyer, announced his own bid to become the Democratic nominee.
They joined a growing field of blue candidates that includes Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, state Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-36), Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Candice Bennett (At-Large) and retired U.S. Navy officer Joshua Aisen.
The special election could also feature retired FBI agent Mike Van Meter, currently the only Republican contender, and independent candidate Chandrashekar Tamirisa.
This will be Roma’s first attempt to win elected office, but she has experience advising both businesses and local and federal governments on energy issues, according to a press release from her campaign.
Currently a partner and global energy practice leader at the law firm Hogan Lovells, which has headquarters in D.C. and London, Roma has testified before Congress and spoken at United Nations climate summits on nuclear energy and fusion, and the need for the U.S. to lead the way on modernizing the power grid.
According to the release, Roma believes she can bring “results-driven leadership” to Northern Virginia as someone who isn’t a career politician but has experience dealing with policy and responding to crises.
“Families are being squeezed by rising prices, our energy systems are strained, and dysfunction in Washington is putting our future at risk,” Roma said. “Donald Trump is making things worse — undermining the rule of law and our constitution, gutting experts at agencies, rolling back our clean energy progress, and dragging us backward. We need leaders who can break through the noise and get things done. That’s what I do.”
Outside of her professional work, Roma has been involved in humanitarian causes, partnering with the New England Patriots early in the COVID-19 pandemic to collect and deliver nearly 2 million face masks to hospitals around the U.S.
She also worked with former Navy SEALs to help evacuate women, girls and people who assisted the U.S. from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country’s government in 2021 and led a team of legal volunteers at the U.S.-Mexico border when families were being separated during President Donald Trump’s first term.
In addition, Roma organized active-shooter preparedness exercises around the country after the Dec. 14, 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, her campaign says.
Jonathan Cleck, a former Navy SEAL officer who worked with Roma to coordinate evacuations from Afghanistan, says her efforts saved the lives of “hundreds of Afghan allies.”
“What I personally witnessed Amy accomplish after the fall of Kabul was nothing short of extraordinary,” Cleck told FFXnow by email. “While red tape tied down the government and our broader community of former SEALs was mobilizing to try anything and everything to help our comrades stuck in country, Amy (in her personal capacity) found a way to cut through every barrier that stood in the way.”
Cleck described Roma’s actions as the embodiment of the Navy SEALs ethos, noting that his comments are his personal views, not those of the Navy. He also added that he’s neither a Democrat nor a voter in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, which encompasses much of Fairfax County and Fairfax City.
“I am just a veteran who was trying to help some really good people get out of Afghanistan and Amy found a way to make it happen when all other efforts were failing,” he said.
The 11th district seat is currently vacant after Connolly died from esophageal cancer on May 21. The longtime Fairfax politician had served in Congress since 2009 and had just been reelected for a ninth term last November when he publicly shared his diagnosis.
Aspiring successors began declaring their candidacy after Connolly announced on April 28 that his cancer had reemerged and he would not seek reelection.
The date of a special election will be determined by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, though state law doesn’t specify a timeline for when a writ of election must be issued.
