The outcome of Tuesday's special election could make history, as state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D) would become first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
McClellan, a lawyer who has served in the Virginia General Assembly since 2006, is widely expected to prevail in the deep-blue, Richmond-anchored 4th Congressional District. Benjamin has run for the seat twice and lost to McEachin in November by roughly 30 percentage points, weeks before McEachinTuesday’s outcome has historic implications, with McClellan expected to become the first Black woman that Virginia elected to Congress.
Wes Bellamy, chair of the political science department at Virginia State University, a historically Black college in Petersburg, said McClellan’s long track record of public service within the district and her close relationship with McEachin will likely motivate voters to turn out for her. In addition, he said, “the historic aspect of her becoming the first Black woman to serve in this position is not to be taken lightly.”“We still collectively have a very long way to go.
McClellan has described the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the table in politics, noting how her family’s experiences growing up in the segregated South drove her to champion “There’s a void without McEachin there,” said Del. Lamont Bagby , who leads the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus with McClellan and who briefly competed against her for the Democratic nomination to succeed McEachin before dropping out of the race. “I think she’s going to fill that void, and be a voice for those individuals that need a voice like hers and his.”
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