Early Voting Begins for 4th District Congressional Special Election  

by Charles McGuigan 01.2023

On the second anniversary of one of the grimmest days in American history, when armed insurrectionists attacked the US Capitol in a failed coup attempt, human beacons of democracy gathered on the lawn at 2314 West Laburnum Avenue urging voters to cast their ballots in the February 21 special election to fill the 4th District Congressional seat left vacant since Donald McEachin’s death in late November. The choice here was clear: State Senator Jennifer McClellan, the Democratic candidate who trounced her competition in the primary held this past December. If Jennifer is elected in February she will become the first Black woman in history to represent Virginia in Congress. In-person early voting for the special election began today and will continue through February 18.  Voters throughout the 4th Congressional District can go to their local registrar’s office to vote early.

Local, state and national Democratic stalwarts surrounded Jennifer and spoke eloquently on her behalf, reminding those in attendance that democracy is preserved not by acts of sedition, but by the active involvement of the electorate. 

Among those present were US Senator Tim Kaine; former Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton; Delegates Delores McQuinn, Jeffrey Bourne, and Betsy Carr; Mayor Levar Stoney;  2nd  District Councilwoman Katherine Jordan; and 6th Richmond School Board Member Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed.

Senator Tim Kaine, who has known Jennifer McClellan for years, recently told me this: “I’ve known Jenn long before she ran her first race and I’ve been a mentor to her. She represented me as my  delegate. She represents me as my state senator. I officiated at her wedding. She’s forged historic legislation—voting rights, reproductive rights, equal rights amendment, criminal justice reform clean energy. You name it, she’s figured out a way to get people to come together and do it. And we need more people like her in Congress.”