{"id":554899,"date":"2023-02-22T05:18:43","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T02:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mcclellan-wins-special-election-for-virginias-4th-district\/"},"modified":"2023-02-22T05:18:43","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T02:18:43","slug":"mcclellan-wins-special-election-for-virginias-4th-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mcclellan-wins-special-election-for-virginias-4th-district\/","title":{"rendered":"#McClellan wins special election for Virginia\u2019s 4th District"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f9befdea41\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f9befdea41\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mcclellan-wins-special-election-for-virginias-4th-district\/#McClellan_wins_special_election_for_Virginias_4th_District\" >McClellan wins special election for Virginia\u2019s 4th District<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"McClellan_wins_special_election_for_Virginias_4th_District\"><\/span>McClellan wins special election for Virginia\u2019s 4th District<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) \u2014 Virginia voters on Tuesday elected Democrat Jennifer McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, to fill an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will make history as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will make this commonwealth and this country a better place for everyone,\u201d McClellan said in a victory speech at a party with supporters in Richmond. \u201cI am ready to get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McClellan, 50, prevailed over right-wing Republican nominee Leon Benjamin in the special election for the blue-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border.<\/p>\n<p>The seat was open after the death of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/richmond-virginia-obituaries-mark-warner-congress-2e0f9c9a04c1bcd3dfcdadb62c7ff40f\" data-ylk=\"slk:Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin;cpos:1;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin<\/a>, who passed away following a long fight with the secondary effects of colorectal cancer in November, weeks after being elected to a fourth term. McClellan&#8217;s election won\u2019t change the balance of power of the U.S. House, which Republicans narrowly control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHistorical. Had to be a part of it,\u201d voter Rashida Mitchell said of the ballot she cast for McClellan on Tuesday afternoon. \u201cShe\u2019s done great things for the city of Richmond, for the commonwealth as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prior to Tuesday, only 22 states had ever elected a Black woman to Congress, according to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2023\/02\/16\/22-states-have-ever-elected-a-black-woman-to-congress\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:a recent;cpos:2;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">a recent<\/a> Pew Research Center analysis of historical records. McClellan said breaking that barrier in Virginia carries extra weight because of her family\u2019s history in the Jim Crow South.<\/p>\n<p>Her father\u2019s grandfather had to take a literacy test and find three white people to vouch for him just to be able to register to vote, said McClellan, a native of central Virginia. Her grandfather and father paid poll taxes and her mother, now 90, didn\u2019t vote until after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor, and responsibility, to ensure that I\u2019m not the last,\u201d she said in an interview last week.<\/p>\n<p>An associate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> counsel for Verizon, where she\u2019s worked for 20 years, McClellan has represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly for nearly as long.<\/p>\n<p>At the statehouse, McClellan has cultivated a reputation as a deeply knowledgeable, widely respected consensus builder and legislator. A skilled debater with a polished, reserved style, she\u2019s sponsored many of Democrats\u2019 top legislative priorities in recent years, including bills that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/legislature-bills-voting-rights-legislation-elections-0212f8b6b44fbef8088b3bba8d9fd317\" data-ylk=\"slk:expanded voting access;cpos:3;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">expanded voting access<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/bills-us-news-laws-virginia-abortion-941f5274c0bdc15f680de5eeed43caef\" data-ylk=\"slk:abortion rights;cpos:4;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">abortion rights<\/a> and legislation that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/energy-policy-us-news-environment-virginia-ralph-northam-cddda59df1d16ec02435f1a3e8e898a7\" data-ylk=\"slk:set ambitious clean energy mandates;cpos:5;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">set ambitious clean energy mandates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now the mother of two school-aged children, McClellan was the first delegate to serve while pregnant and give birth while in office after she joined the state House in 2006.<\/p>\n<p>McClellan also followed in McEachin\u2019s footsteps when she moved up to the state Senate. She announced her candidacy for a seat he previously held after he was first elected to Congress in 2016, and she easily won a January 2017 special election.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/835dbbd55349f0e93736d00ff017765c\" data-ylk=\"slk:she was part;cpos:6;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">she was part<\/a> of the crowded Democratic field seeking the party\u2019s nomination for governor, which she and three other candidates lost to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/2021-virginia-primary-242ce0c3a1cb16dc50fa5a28751cdd72\" data-ylk=\"slk:Terry McAuliffe;cpos:7;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Terry McAuliffe<\/a>. That experience, McClellan said, helped her pivot quickly to this race and the high-speed December nominating contest that lasted just over a week.<\/p>\n<p>McClellan said her interest in politics first began in middle school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was listening to my parents\u2019 stories. &#8230; They saw the best of government through the New Deal and they saw the worst of government through Jim Crow. And their stories sparked a love of history,\u201d McClellan said.<\/p>\n<p>She graduated from a suburban Richmond high school, attended the University of Richmond and obtained her law degree from the University of Virginia, initially with a goal of becoming an attorney for a congressional committee.<\/p>\n<p>She changed course and first sought elected office herself in 2005. She\u2019s been active in the state Democratic party since she was in college and met her husband, David Mills, through politics. They were married by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a mentor and adviser of McClellan who campaigned with her over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Kaine said at a Saturday rally in Richmond that McClellan\u2019s combination of legislative experience and her existing connections with Virginia\u2019s congressional delegation \u2014 including four Republican members with whom she served in the General Assembly \u2014 means she\u2019ll be well positioned to be effective despite the GOP majority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s a hard worker, does the homework, really gets into the details,\u201d Kaine told reporters. \u201cShe\u2019s very firm in her convictions, but she\u2019s a civil, courteous person who doesn\u2019t push anybody away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McClellan pledged in her speech Tuesday night to serve as a unifier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can prove that when we come together and we care more about doing the work and solving the problems than soundbites and the show, that we can help people,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>She opened her remarks with a remembrance of McEachin. His widow, Richmond prosecutor Colette McEachin, was among a number of high-profile endorsers of McClellan as she campaigned for and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:8;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/richmond-terry-mcauliffe-6640a7c0f407af81132083a9826347d0\" data-ylk=\"slk:handily secured;cpos:8;pos:1\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">handily secured<\/a> the party\u2019s nomination for the race.<\/p>\n<p>The contest between McClellan and Benjamin, a pastor and Navy veteran who as a commentator has espoused conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic and voter fraud, was not seen as competitive, though McClellan said she took nothing for granted. She campaigned and fundraised amid the ongoing General Assembly session. The two did not meet for a debate, and McClellan largely focused her message on her legislative record rather than highlighting Benjamin\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n<p>McClellan far outraised Benjamin, who was endorsed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other top Virginia Republicans, and she had a structural advantage in the heavily Democratic, majority-minority district.<\/p>\n<p>The race marked the third loss in a row for Benjamin, who twice previously challenged McEachin.<\/p>\n<p>McClellan\u2019s victory Tuesday will set up another special election to fill her seat in the General Assembly. She declined in the interview to say whether she would issue an endorsement in what\u2019s shaping up to be another crowded primary.<\/p>\n<p>As for her own political future, she didn\u2019t rule out another statewide run down the road but said she hopes to make progress in Congress on some of the same issues she\u2019s championed in Richmond: environmental justice and climate change, abortion rights, public school funding, and expanding voting rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of the success that I have had with major legislation at the state level, all of that work still hasn\u2019t been done at the federal level. And so I will bring my expertise on those issues and continue to work on those issues in Congress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/voters-picking-mceachin-successor-virginias-021843304.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McClellan wins special election for Virginia\u2019s 4th District RICHMOND, Va. (AP) \u2014 Virginia voters on Tuesday elected Democrat Jennifer McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, to fill an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will make history as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress. \u201cWe will&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":554900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/BEUMGDvCjX3BESrbzFJhQw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/61659a4f6f0dfdaf6f28bc8dbf980e86","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}