Jennifer McClellan wins Democratic 'firehouse primary' to replace late Rep. Don McEachin

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State Sen. Jennifer McClellan has won the Democratic nomination for a special election to replace Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA), who died last month.

McClellan won Tuesday's "firehouse primary" by a wide margin, taking over 84% of the total vote in Virginia's 4th Congressional District. The special election to complete McEachin's term will be held in February.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE 'FIREHOUSE PRIMARY' TO NOMINATE SUCCESSOR TO LATE REP. DON MCEACHIN

McClellan will likely be the first black woman to represent Virginia in Congress because the Richmond-based district leans heavily Democratic. The Democratic Party of Virginia said the four-way primary saw historic turnout, with over 27,000 votes.

"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; voter turnout even exceeded the last state-run primary in VA-04, when 15,728 votes were cast," the party said in a statement.

She beat out state Sen. Joseph Morrissey, Tavorise Marks, and Joseph E. Preston, who all announced their candidacies in a matter of weeks. McClellan launched an aggressive digital advertising campaign and said she has already raised about $200,000 for her candidacy.

Her chief opponent, Morrissey, blasted the way the state party held the primary on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday, claiming it would have the "direct effect of chilling and limiting voter turnout."

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McEachin, 61, died after a lengthy battle with cancer in November. The special election is to fill almost the entirety of the two-year term he was just elected to on Nov. 8. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) announced that the special election date will be Feb. 21.

Democrats will be in the House minority when the new term starts in January, with 212 seats with one vacancy to the GOP's 222 seats. As the House stands for the remainder of the year, Democrats have a majority of 218 seats to Republicans' 213, with four vacancies.

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Tags: Campaigns, Democratic primary, House Democrats, Democratic Party, Virginia, Cancer, Election

Original Author: Virginia Aabram

Original Location: Jennifer McClellan wins Democratic 'firehouse primary' to replace late Rep. Don McEachin