{"id":2474271,"date":"2025-08-13T12:28:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-used-dead-bosss-cash-to-win-primary\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T12:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:29:35","slug":"democrat-used-dead-bosss-cash-to-win-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-used-dead-bosss-cash-to-win-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat used dead boss&#8217;s cash to win primary"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-used-dead-bosss-cash-to-win-primary%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2474271&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>James Walkinshaw, a Fairfax County Supervisor and former chief of staff to the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, won the Democratic primary for Virginia&#8217;s 11th Congressional District largely due to a important financial boost from Connolly&#8217;s campaign funds. After Connolly&#8217;s death from esophageal cancer, approximately $1.8 million remaining in his campaign account was transferred to a super PAC supporting Walkinshaw. This PAC spent over $1.7 million to promote his candidacy, overshadowing the funds Walkinshaw raised himself, wich amounted to about $768,000.<\/p>\n<p>Walkinshaw&#8217;s opponents, state senators Stella Pekarsky and Irene Shin, had substantially less financial backing, with under $550,000 and $342,000 respectively, including support from their own super PACs. Additionally, Walkinshaw received nearly $1 million from a super PAC backed by the cryptocurrency industry, giving him more than three times the combined financial resources of his two main competitors.<\/p>\n<p>This funding advantage led to Walkinshaw&#8217;s decisive victory, garnering nearly 60% of the vote. However, the use of Connolly&#8217;s campaign funds and social media accounts to support Walkinshaw after Connolly&#8217;s death drew criticism and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ethics-experts-alarmed-by-nearly-100-decrease-in-clinton-foundation-donations-since-250-million-peak-in-2009\/\" title=\"Ethics Experts Alarmed By Nearly 100% Decrease In Clinton Foundation Donations Since 0 Million Peak In 2009\u00a0\">raised ethical concerns<\/a>.Connolly&#8217;s email and social media accounts were used to solicit donations for Walkinshaw&#8217;s campaign posthumously, causing backlash and leading to the removal of posts from Connolly&#8217;s official pages. The Walkinshaw campaign did not respond to requests for comment on these issues.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Congressional hopeful relied on dead boss&rsquo;s cash to win primary election&nbsp;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2127612\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A majority of the funds that propelled Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw to victory in the Democratic primary for Virginia&rsquo;s 11th Congressional District came from his dead boss&rsquo;s campaign account, not funds he raised organically, a <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>review of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >campaign finance records found<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Walkinshaw was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jameswalkinshaw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">chief of staff<\/a> to the late Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly from 2009 to 2019. Connolly endorsed Walkinshaw&rsquo;s bid to replace him in Congress shortly before dying of esophageal cancer in May. In early June, most of Conolly&rsquo;s remaining campaign funds, $1.8 million, were <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/pdf\/465\/202507239764208465\/202507239764208465.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">transferred<\/a> to Fight for Virginia&rsquo;s Future, a super PAC backing Walkinshaw. After receiving that infusion of cash, the pro-Walkinshaw PAC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/independent-expenditures\/?data_type=processed&amp;most_recent=true&amp;q_spender=C00904623&amp;is_notice=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">spent<\/a> over $1.7 million boosting his candidacy. Walkinshaw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/candidate\/H6VA11066\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">raised<\/a> just $768,674 in donations and only spent $535,053.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3498063\/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization\/\">Designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3497987\/watchdog-va-staffing-shortages-inspector-general\/\">VA watchdog finds record level of staffing shortages<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3497190\/ward-8-washington-dc-homicide-rate-similar-juarez-mexico\/\">This DC neighborhood is as dangerous as Ju&aacute;rez. Others aren&rsquo;t much better<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Using the windfall of funds from Conolly, Walkinshaw massively outspent the competition.<\/p>\n<p>Stella Pekarsky, a state senator who challenged Walkinshaw for the Democratic nomination, had just under $550,000, counting her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/candidate\/H6VA11074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">campaign account<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/independent-expenditures\/?data_type=processed&amp;most_recent=true&amp;is_notice=true&amp;candidate_id=H6VA11074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">super PAC<\/a> supporting her, behind her effort. Irene Shin, another state lawmaker who ran in the Democratic primary for Virginia&rsquo;s 11th Congressional District, had just $342,000 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/independent-expenditures\/?data_type=processed&amp;most_recent=true&amp;is_notice=true&amp;candidate_id=H6VA11157\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">behind<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/candidate\/H6VA11157\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">her bid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Walkinshaw received additional support, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/independent-expenditures\/?data_type=processed&amp;most_recent=true&amp;is_notice=true&amp;candidate_id=H6VA11066\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">approximately a million dollars<\/a>, from a super PAC <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/pdf\/439\/202507319779652439\/202507319779652439.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">backed<\/a> by the cryptocurrency industry. He ultimately had over three times more cash behind his campaign than his two biggest competitors combined.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon) | Alex Brandon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Walkinshaw&rsquo;s financial advantage translated to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpap.org\/offices\/us-representative-11\/election\/12537\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">comfortable victory<\/a>. He secured 59.7% of the vote, and Pekarsky and Shin received 13.4% and 14.3%, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Per Federal Election Commission rules, the remaining funds in Connolly&rsquo;s account could have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/help-candidates-and-committees\/making-disbursements\/non-campaign-related-expenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">donated to charity<\/a>. John Jennison, who is friendly with Walkinshaw according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SupervisorJamesWalkinshaw\/posts\/a-perfect-evening-for-the-west-springfield-little-league-opening-ceremony-little\/1104140398186441\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">social<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SupervisorJamesWalkinshaw\/videos\/today-is-the-final-day-of-blackhistorymonth-and-i-wanted-to-share-a-few-thoughts\/4065970017019234\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">media<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1073347511265730&amp;id=100057714745108&amp;set=a.311736887426800\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">posts<\/a>, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/committee\/C00445452\/?tab=about-committee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">in charge<\/a> of Connolly&rsquo;s remaining funds at the time of the transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Walkinshaw caught flak online after Connolly&rsquo;s social media account and email address were used to boost his campaign. Connolly&rsquo;s campaign sent emails to supporters on June 5, long after the congressman had died, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/campaign-finance-questions-swirl-around-potential-pa-gop-gubernatorial-contender-doug-mastriano\/\" title=\"... Finance Questions Swirl Around Potential PA GOP Gubernatorial Contender Doug Mastriano\">soliciting campaign contributions<\/a> for Walkinshaw.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Beyond unethical,&rdquo; one Democratic operative <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fareedi_kamran\/status\/1931042618097438971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">posted in response<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3496543\/pro-israel-billionaires-thomas-massie-campaign-ads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>PRO-ISRAEL BILLIONAIRES SPENT OVER $1.5 MILLION IN 38 DAYS TO OUST THOMAS MASSIE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Connolly&rsquo;s X account also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/06\/24\/gerry-connolly-james-walkinshaw-dead-social-media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">posted a reminder<\/a> for its followers to vote early for Walkinshaw. The post was received negatively by some social media users and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ElectConnolly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">was removed <\/a>from Connolly&rsquo;s page.<\/p>\n<p>The Walkinshaw campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2127612\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2127612\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congressional candidate won primary using late boss&#8217;s funds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2474272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ap-gerry-connolly-1024x592.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33926,4912,33117,33184],"class_list":["post-2474271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campaign-finance","tag-democrat","tag-political-scandal","tag-primary-election"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ap-gerry-connolly-1024x592.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2474271"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474275,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474271\/revisions\/2474275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2474272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2474271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2474271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2474271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}