Voters Head to Polls for Special Election in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, is favored to win

Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) speaks during a rally outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 20, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Voters in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District will select the replacement for the late Rep. Donald McEachin, who died shortly after being reelected last November, in a special election on Tuesday.

Voters in the Democrat-leaning district will choose between Democrat Jennifer McClellan and Republican Leon Benjamin. McClellan is heavily favored to take the seat, which Democrats have held since redistricting in 2016.

McClellan’s platform follows the standard Democrat positions. According to her website, McClellan will push for congress to address “health care and abortion access,” “gun violence,” and “equity, inclusivity, and racial justice.”

McClellan would be the first black woman elected to Congress from Virginia, and Benjamin would be the fourth black man.

Senator Jennifer McClellan at Senate committee hearing Jan. 31, 2023, courtesy of https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/

McClellan has served in the Virginia Legislature for 16 years, first in the House of Delegates and later in the state Senate, where she’s served since 2017.

She sponsored a bill currently in the Legislature to control energy costs based on energy providers’ profits. She also sponsored a bill to codify abortion as a right in the Virginia Constitution. Her proposed constitutional amendment failed on a party-line vote.

McClellan has a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from the University of Richmond and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Benjamin hopes to win the seat for Republicans on a conservative, “drain the swamp”-themed platform. According to his website, Benjamin will work to promote family values, make communities safer, restore American energy independence, protect the rights of parents, and return political power to voters and away from politicians, among other issues.

Benjamin challenged McEachin in the 4th Congressional District in 2020 and 2022 but lost both times. McEachin reportedly declined to debate Benjamin ahead of the most recent election because Benjamin questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election and would not concede his own loss to McEachin in 2020.

Benjamin is a U.S. Navy veteran with a bachelor’s degree from Rovear Christian University. He lists his occupations as a business owner, investor, and pastor.

McEachin had held the seat since 2016, when the boundaries for Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District were ruled unconstitutional due to alleged racial gerrymandering. The lines were redrawn, transferring several areas from the 3rd to the 4th District.

Before redistricting, the 3rd District had been solidly blue, and the 4th District had been red. Since 2016, Democrats have held both districts.