The 2023 Virginia's 4th congressional district special election is a special election to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

that will be held to fill for the remainder of the

118th United States Congress The 118th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington ...

. The seat became vacant after incumbent

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

representative

Donald McEachin Aston Donald McEachin ( ; October 10, 1961 – November 28, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in ...

died on November 28, 2022, of colorectal cancer. In the United States, vacancies in the House must be filled by special elections. Under Virginia law, the governor schedules the special election and political parties handle their nominating processes themselves. On December 12, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the special election will take place on February 21, 2023. According to the

writ of election A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United ...

, party nominees and other prospective candidates had until December 23, 2022, to file to run in the special election.

Democratic primary

The Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee, responsible for choosing a nominee by December 23, organized an unassembled caucus, or "

firehouse primary {{Short description, Election run by a political party to select a candidate or nominee for a later general election A firehouse primary, also called a firehouse caucus or "unassembled caucus", is a term sometimes used in the United States to descri ...

," on December 20 with a filing deadline of December 16. According to the

Democratic Party of Virginia The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia. Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, the ...

, the race saw the highest turnout in a "firehouse primary" in Virginia history. The solid Democratic lean of the district meant that victory in the primary was seen as

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...

. Political analysts perceived the short timeline between the writ of election and the primary date as beneficial to candidates with institutional support. The major candidates in the primary were state senators

Jennifer McClellan Jennifer Leigh McClellan (born December 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Virginia state senator from the 9th district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously elected to the Virginia House of ...

, who was considered to be the establishment favourite, and "firebrand" Joe Morrissey. Morrissey criticized the lack of polling locations in his Senate district and his campaign paid for a radio ad encouraging Republicans to vote for him. McClellan won with 85% of the vote to Morrissey's 14%.

Candidates

Nominee

, state senator from the 9th district (2017–present) and candidate for

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Eliminated in primary

* Tavorise Marks, insurance business owner and candidate for Virginia's 62nd House of Delegates district in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Joe Morrissey, state senator from the 16th district (2020–present) and candidate for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Richmond in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* Joseph Preston, former state delegate from the 63rd district (2015–2016)

Withdrawn

Lamont Bagby Lamont Bagby (born December 21, 1976) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. On November 3, 2015, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 74th district, which includes Charles City County, parts of Henrico ...

, state delegate from the 74th district (2015–present) and chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus ''(endorsed McClellan)''

Declined

Lashrecse Aird Lashrecse Dianna Aird / ˌlɔ.ʃəˈɹis/ (née Jones; born June 22, 1986) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 63rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022. The district includes Dinwiddie County and ...

, former state delegate from the 63rd district (2016–2022) * Colette McEachin, Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney and widow of Donald McEachin ''(endorsed McClellan)'' *

Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, the youngest membe ...

of Richmond (2017–present) and former Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth (2014–2016) ''(endorsed McClellan)'' * Treska Wilson-Smith, Petersburg city councilor

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

The Fourth Congressional District Republican Committee, responsible for choosing a nominee by December 23, held a canvass event in Colonial Heights on December 17.

Candidates

Nominee

* Leon Benjamin, pastor,

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

veteran, and nominee for this seat in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Eliminated in primary

* Derrick Hollie, marketing executive * Dale Sturdifen, former chair of the

Mecklenburg County Public Schools Mecklenburg County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Boydton, Virginia, United States. It provides the public school education for students who live in Mecklenburg County. Organization Mecklenburg County Public Schools is gove ...

Board and candidate for Virginia's 15th Senate district in

General election

Predictions

Results

References

External links

;Campaign websites
Leon Benjamin (R) for CongressJennifer McClellan (D) for Congress
{{2023 United States elections Virginia 2023 04 Virginia 2023 04 2023 04 Special Virginia 04 Special United States House of Representatives 04 Special United States House of Representatives 2023 04

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

General election

Predictions

Results

See also

References

External links