Today’s Morning Jolt declared, “The U.S. House of Representatives currently has 220 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and two vacancies.”
Between its writing and publication, another vacancy occurred with the announcement of the death of Virginia Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly, after a battle with esophageal cancer. This is the third House Democrat to die in office since early March, after Sylvester Turner and Raúl Grijalva. Republicans now have a 220–212 majority, with three vacancies.
Under Virginia law, Governor Glenn Youngkin must declare a vacancy. (A correction to an earlier version of this post; the National Conference of State Legislatures web site is incorrect, and a special election is not required within 60 days. When asked if there was any deadline or timetable under the law, Andrea Gaines, the external affairs manager of the Virginia Department of Elections responded, “at this time, we do not have any additional information to provide other than referencing the Code of Virginia.”)
If Youngkin wants to select a date when the district will already be holding elections, Virginia has primary elections scheduled for June 17.
Virginia’s eleventh congressional district, which encompasses most of Fairfax County and all of the City of Fairfax, scores a D+18 in the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Last November, Kamala Harris carried the district with 65 percent to Donald Trump’s 31 percent.