McClellan wins; Morrissey concedes
Jennifer McClellan will likely be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia.
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McClellan wins
State Senator Jennifer McClellan has won the Democratic primary and will be the nominee for the special election in late February. McClellan won with 23,661 votes — which equals 84% of the vote. Morrissey finished in second place with 3,782 votes.
McClellan is holding a press conference at 10 am with party leaders to discuss the nomination.
It was essentially a two-person race between McClellan and state Sen. Joe Morrissey. He provided the following concession statement Thursday morning:
"I want to congratulate Senator McClellan, her supporters, and especially, her family on her win today,” Morrissey said. “Virginia has never sent a Black woman to congress. That will change next year. This is progress of which we all can all be proud of. I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure she prevails in the general election. If asked, I look forward to campaigning with her, particularly in areas I currently represent. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank my small but superb team. We had two office employees and two field workers who worked tirelessly. But the most energetic, eager and enthusiastic “worker bees” were Kennedy (10), Chase (7), Bella (6) and Maverick (as he says, almost 5). They spent 10 days in a row, every afternoon, placing meet-n-greet pizza invites under doors in Senior high rises, apartment buildings & church parking lots. They did a great job!”
There will be ramifications in the state Senate to be discussed but that will come in a later update. I will also provide and update on what McClellan says during her press conference at 10 am.
McClellan is set to face Leon Benjamin for the special election in late February. Benjamin lost to McEachin last month by 30 points.
A reminder of who McClellan is, if you don’t already know: She is a state senator who was elected by a special election in 2017 to fill the seat left vacant by Donald McEachin after he won the VA-04 election in 2016. McClellan had previously served in the House of Delegates since 2006. She also ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2021 but lost to Terry McAuliffe.
Stay tuned for more updates.