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The X account of late Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly was used to share an endorsement of his former chief of staff as his chosen successor, with many finding the move unappealing.
Connolly died on May 21 after he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He previously announced that he wouldn’t be running for re-election at the age of 75, having been in the House of Representatives since 2009.
In December of last year, Connolly defeated New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a race to serve as the ranking Democrat on the influential House Oversight Committee, to the annoyance of some younger and more progressive Democrats who had been pushing for a generational shift in the party.
His death made the situation worse. Connolly was the third House Democrat to die in office this year, following the deaths of Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner, 70, and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, 77. Connolly became the eighth congressional Democrat to die in office since 2022. The vacant Democratic seats have created more room for Republicans to maneuver in the House.
Two weeks before his death, Connolly endorsed his former chief of staff, James Walkinshaw, to succeed him.
“For over two decades, [Walkinshaw] stood by my side — as my chief of staff, my partner in progress, and my closest ally in the fight for Northern Virginia,” Connolly wrote on May 7. “Today, I’m proud to endorse him to succeed me in Congress. James is ready to lead on day one.”
Connolly died two weeks later.
After his death, his X account was updated to state that “Congressman Connolly passed away 5/21/2025. All posts made with the consent of the Connolly family.”
The first post after his death came one month later on June 24. It has since been deleted.
“Early voting starts TODAY in VA-11! Before passing, Gerry endorsed @JamesWalkinshaw to carry the torch. Let’s honor that legacy and vote for bold leadership that’ll fight for us every day,” the post stated, linking to Walkinshaw’s campaign site.
The post quickly garnered criticism. Democratic operative Kamran Fareedi previously criticized the Connolly campaign for sending out emails after his death, calling it “beyond unethical.”
However, he said the June 24 post on X “goes beyond emailing on the late-Rep. Connolly's behalf after he passed away.”
Dustin Keith, a supporter of Irene Shin, one of Walkinshaw’s challengers, wrote on X that the post was “exactly why Walkinshaw should lose.”
“It's entirely inappropriate and disgusting to exploit access to the late Congressman's socials for your own political gain,” Keith added.
Others criticized the account’s “necroposting” as “ghoulish,” “grotesque,” ”unethical,” “disgusting,” and “creepy.”
“Tweeting from the account of someone who just passed doesn’t sit right with me,” MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoye wrote. “And personally, I really dislike when Congressional staff immediately jump in to run for their boss’s seat: feels opportunistic and leaves a bad taste.”
Walkinshow is running in the June 28th primary for Connelly’s seat against nine other Democrats. He has also been endorsed by top Virginia Democrats such as Rep. Don Beyer, former Rep. Jennifer Wexton, Rep. Eugene Vindman, and a large number of state lawmakers.
The Independent has requested comment from the Walkinshaw campaign.
