Jennifer McClellan won the Democratic ‘firehouse primary’ for the Virginia House seat of the late Rep. Donald McEachin

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Senator Jennifer McClellan of the state of Virginia won the Democratic nomination for the House seat vacated by the late Rep. Donald McEachin.

The race was called by The Associated Press after 4 a.m. Thursday, with McClellan receiving 84.81% of the vote.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called a special election for the state’s 4th Congressional District after McEachin’s death, instructing both parties to file candidates by Dec. 23. In that short time, four Democrats registered for called the “firehouse primary,” named for how the party had to scramble to organize the election.

Virginia Congressman Don McEachin has died after a battle with cancer

“Tuesday’s party-run process saw historic turnout with 27,900 votes cast, making it the largest party-run nomination process in the history of the Democratic Party of Virginia; even surpassing voter turnout in the last state-run primary in VA -04, when 15,728 votes were cast,” the Democratic Party of Virginia said in a statement Thursday.

UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 17: State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., candidate for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, attends a canvassing event on the North Side of Richmond, Va., on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. McClellan is running to fill the se

The two front-runners were McClellan and Democratic state Sens. Joseph Morrissey, who received 13.56% of the vote. Each announced their candidacies less than a week before voters go to the polls for Tuesday’s primary.

Other candidates include Tavorise Marks (0.78%) and Joseph Preston (0.62%).

McClellan won the endorsement of McEachin’s wife, Richmond Commonwealth Attorney Colette McEachin, as well as support from Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, as well as several other prominent state Democrats.

He launched a blitzkrieg campaign, spending about $15,000 on Google Ads targeting voters in the district according to FWIW, a newsletter that tracks political ad spending.

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A McClellan campaign advisor told Roll Call that he had raised about $200,000 as of Friday.

Meanwhile, Morrissey is a scandal-ridden lawyer who has attacked the leadership of the Democratic Party for the way they conduct primary elections.

“Instead of holding a firehouse primary on Saturday, December 17, 2022, as we have previously held firehouse primaries on Saturdays, letting everyone vote, the Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee has chosen an unprecedented Tuesday, special process of the nomination election. This will have the direct effect of chilling and limiting voter turnout,” Morrisey said in a statement blasting the “Democratic elite” for scheduling the primary on a weekday.

“I am not whining. I’m not complaining. I will fight back. I will work hard. My parents taught all of us to give up, never to quit. And that’s what we’ll do. So we’ll play through of your rules. Shame on you, Susan Swecker, and the Democratic elite for what you did. We’re going to play by your rules and we’re going to beat you,” he said, referring to Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Virginia Democratic Party.

VA Congressman Don McEachin has died at age 61

Virginia Congressman Donald McEachin died Monday after a long battle with colorectal cancer. McEachin was first diagnosed in 2013. He represents Virginia’s 4th Congressional District — near Richmond. McEachin is 61 years old.

Morrissey, 65, was accused in 2014 of having sex with his 17-year-old secretary, whom he later married. He was in his mid-fifties then.

Susan Swecker, Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, will join Alexsis Rodgers, Chairwoman of the Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee, for a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Thursday to formally announce McClellan’s victory, the Virginia Democratic Party said.

McClellan will face Republican Leon Benjamin Sr. in a special election on Feb. 21. Benjamin previously ran unsuccessfully against McEachin twice and lost by thousands of votes last November.

The race is leaning Democratic.

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