Fairfax County voters will have a second chance on Monday (Aug. 18) to hear from the two men vying to succeed the late Gerry Connolly as Virginia’s 11th Congressional District representative.
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, the Democratic nominee, and former FBI agent Stewart Whitson, the Republican nominee, will both participate in a candidate forum at 8 p.m. organized by the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area, a nonpartisan group that advocates for voting rights and civic participation.
The forum will be broadcast live on Fairfax County’s public access channel 10 and streamed on YouTube. Though there won’t be an in-person audience, viewers will be able to ask questions by calling a phone number that will appear on the screen, the League of Women Voters says.
For those not able to watch live, the event will be recorded and posted online “a few days” later.
The forum is also being supported by the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, Fairfax County Alumnae Chapter Deta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations, Fairfax County Council of PTAs, Fairfax County NAACP and REV UP Virginia.
This will be the second candidate forum held since Walkinshaw and Whitson secured their respective parties’ nominations on June 28. A previous conversation hosted by the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods saw the candidates touch on a variety of hot-button national issues, including the Trump administration’s slashing of the federal workforce, immigration enforcement and the war in Gaza.
Early voting has been underway since July 25, leading up to the special election on Sept. 9. As of yesterday afternoon (Thursday), nearly 20,000 votes have been cast so far, according to the Fairfax County Office of Elections.
Nearly 20,000 votes have been cast so far during early voting for the 11th Congressional District special election.
Two early voting sites are open weekdays.
Additional sites open Aug. 29.
Details: https://t.co/qTTNCNGVZd pic.twitter.com/kB40B8PV9N
— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) August 14, 2025
Currently, Fairfax County Government Center and the North County Governmental Center in Reston are still the only two locations available for early in-person voting, but another nine sites are scheduled to open on Aug. 29.
The winner of the special election will serve in House of Representatives for the remainder of Connolly’s term, which began in January and extends until the end of 2026. Reelected to Congress for a ninth term last November, Connolly died on May 21 of esophageal cancer at the age of 75.
