Democrat wins special election for Virginia House seat

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Democratic congressional candidate Jennifer McClellan is projected to win the special election to fill the vacant seat representing Virginia's 4th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.

The seat was vacated by the late Democratic Congressman Rep. Donald McEachin last year when he died from complications related to cancer, prompting the special election to be called.

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State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., candidate for Virginia's 4th Congressional District, speaks during a canvassing event as Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., looks on, in the North Side of Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

McClellan sailed to victory in the Democratic primary in December, and ultimately defeated her Republican opponent, Navy veteran and pastor Leon Benjamin, on Tuesday.

She will become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

With her victory Democrats will hold 213 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, while Republicans will still hold a slim five-seat majority with 222 seats.

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McClellan has served in the Virginia General Assembly since 2006 after first being elected to the House of Delegates in the 2005 election. She served in the body until 2017 when she won a special election fill a seat in the state Senate. 

McClellan has served in the state Senate since, but unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2021.

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin speaks at an election night party in Chantilly, Va., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, after he defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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She ultimately came in third while former Gov. Terri McAuliffe went on to face now-Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in the November general election.