Jennifer McClellan makes history as the first Black woman elected to Congress in Virginia

The Democratic state senator won a special election Tuesday in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District.

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan D-Richmond celebrates at her election party after winning the seat for Virginia's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Richmond, Va. Virginia voters on Tuesday elected 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. (AP Photo/John C. Clark) (John C. Clark, Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Democrat Jennifer McClellan has made history as the first Black woman elected to represent Virginia in Congress, NBC News projected Tuesday.

McClellan, a state senator, defeated Republican Leon Benjamin in Tuesday’s special election in the 4th Congressional District. She will fill the seat of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who died from cancer shortly after he won re-election in November.

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“It still blows my mind that we’re having firsts in 2023,” McClellan said in an interview. “My ancestors fought really hard to have a seat at that table, and now not only will I have a seat at the table in Congress; I’ll be able to bring that policymaking table into communities that never really had a voice before.”

Read the full report from NBC News.


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