By Graham Moomaw

(VM)- Virginia Sen. Jennifer McClellan won the Democratic nomination to fill the Richmond-area congressional seat left vacant after the death of former congressman Donald McEachin, putting her on track to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.

McClellan, an accomplished state legislator and lawyer who unsuccessfully ran for governor last year, defeated fellow state Sen. Joe Morrissey and two other candidates in a fast-moving firehouse primary run by Democratic organizers.

According to numbers released by the Democratic Party of Virginia at 4 a.m. Thursday, McClellan received almost 85% of the vote.

Because of the 4th Congressional District’s strong Democratic lean, McClellan will be the heavy favorite against Republican Leon Benjamin in the Feb. 21 special election. A Richmond-area pastor, Benjamin lost to McEachin twice, once in 2020 and again just last month before the late congressman died Nov. 28 after battling colorectal cancer.

Virginia’s Democratic establishment rallied behind McClellan, considered one of the General Assembly’s top progressive policymakers who has been deeply involved in legislation related to abortion access, climate change and voting rights.

McClellan, 49, is an assistant general counsel for Verizon Communications. She’s served in the General Assembly since 2006, first in the House of Delegates and then in the state Senate district she’s represented since 2017. She moved to the upper chamber when McEachin, a former state senator, made the leap to Congress.

The firehouse primary produced what the Democratic Party of Virginia called “historic turnout,” with 27,900 votes cast. In the last primary for the congressional seat, which was run by Virginia, 15,728 voters cast ballots.