Before Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin could be seated for his fourth term, he died, in November after a long battle with colorectal cancer. And now, voters will have just days—not weeks or months—to choose his successor.
When voters in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District went to the polls last month, they were well-acquainted with their options—and their winner.
That leaves voters in this majority-minority district with roughly one week to choose their Democratic nominee. And in a safe-blue district like this, that nominee is virtually guaranteed to win the general election in February, and to have little contest from the GOP in retaining the seat in future elections.
“It’s all unfortunate. It’s unfortunate that we lost our congressman, Donald McEachin. But what I will say is, we can’t make any excuses about the timing of this race,” said state Del. Lamont Bagby , who announced his candidacy for the seat Monday. “I could pick up and carry on his work seamlessly. I could never replace him and you know, we’re different people and have different styles, but our work ethic or passion for public service, our policy positions are very similar… But you know, as a woman, I have a little bit of a different perspective,” McClellan said.State Sen. Joe Morrissey has also hopped in the race, starting much of his candidacy with ire over the choice to run the election on Tuesday.
Both McClellan and Bagby told The Daily Beast they’re counting on their existing volunteer networks to help get out the vote, given the limited time to hire staff. Bagby’s team also noted they will rely on pastors to help mobilize their congregations ahead of Tuesday’s election. “A Firehouse Primary allows as many candidates and voters to participate in the democratic process as possible,” Alexsis Rodgers, chair of the Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee, said in a statement. “The Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee is committed to holding a smooth, transparent, and expedient process to select a nominee.”
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