FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) -- Democrat James Walkinshaw, the former chief of staff to the late Virginia US Rep. Gerry Connolly, is expected to fill his seat in the House of Representatives after a special election Tuesday, besting his Republican opponent, Stewart Whitson, by a wide margin.

The Associated Press called the race for Walkinshaw after he received over 41,000 votes with roughly 38% of the total votes counted as of 7:45 p.m. Whitson secured 13,000 votes according to poll data. The race was called roughly 30 minutes after the polls closed at 7 p.m.

Walkinshaw is a Northern Virginia native who was elected in 2019 to represent the Braddock District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Since then, his campaign said he has focused on environmental initiatives, gun restrictions in county facilities, and expanding local government programs. On the board, he has supported tax relief measures for seniors and military families.

His campaign said he previously served more than a decade as chief of staff to the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, helping advance Democratic priorities in Congress, including the Affordable Care Act and climate-related legislation, while also securing federal funds for Fairfax County. Walkinshaw now chairs the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, helping to shape regional transit, and has held leadership roles with the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), where he oversaw the introduction of Saturday service, according to his campaign. He has also worked with youth mentoring programs and county domestic violence initiatives.