Walkinshaw holds a wide cash lead over Republican Arthur Purves in Virginia’s 11th District

By Philippa Langstrom

WASHINGTON — Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) enters the final week of his first general-election campaign for Congress with roughly 85 times the money of his Republican opponent, Federal Election Commission records show.

Through Oct. 14, Walkinshaw’s campaign had raised $3,270,621 in the 2025–26 cycle, a total that includes his 2025 special-election race to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, and had $1,143,115 in cash on hand, according to his FEC candidate page. Individual donors accounted for $2,089,822, and other political committees gave $1,135,569.

Republican Arthur G. Purves had raised $38,665 and had $19,735 on hand over the same period, his FEC filings show. That includes $4,452 in loans from the candidate.

Green Party candidate Dianne L. Blais is also on the ballot, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. The FEC lists a registration for Blais but no financial totals for this cycle.

Source: FEC candidate pages.

Outside money came in the special

Most outside spending in the district came during the 2025 special election. FEC independent-expenditure filings show Oversight Action Fund reported $1,702,067 supporting Walkinshaw and Protect Progress reported $1,012,792 supporting him. Heritage Action for America reported $2,790 opposing him.

Walkinshaw also runs two leadership PACs, Ready to Fight PAC and End MAGA PAC, which together raised about $209,000 this cycle, FEC records show.

The candidates

Walkinshaw was Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade and served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 2020 until September 2025, AllCiv reported. In a Connection Newspapers voter guide, he said the district is home to more than 60,000 federal workers and said he founded and co-chairs the Federal Workforce Caucus. He has proposed a public option on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and a lower Medicare eligibility age.

Purves, a Vienna resident, is a retired computer programmer and longtime president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, according to AllCiv and the Vienna Ledger. In the Connection guide he warned that “the federal government is broke,” citing $2 trillion annual deficits, and argued that the private sector, not federal subsidies, should solve housing affordability. His campaign website says chronic-disease prevention through eating “real food” could cut federal spending, AllCiv reported.

Both party primaries were uncontested. Decision Desk HQ rates the race Safe Democratic. Election Day is Nov. 3.