Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity said he will seek the Republican nomination to challenge 11th District Rep. Gerry Connolly in the November election.
His candidacy, which will be formally announced Wednesday, sets up a Republican primary battle with Keith Fimian, a conservative businessman who unsuccessfully opposed Connolly in 2008. The victor will take on a well-known freshman Democrat in a politically diverse district, one that had been represented by a Republican for the 14 years before Connolly’s arrival.
For Herrity, the son of the late former Fairfax County Supervisors Chairman John “Jack” Herrity, locking horns with Connolly will be nothing new. The two were often at odds during Connolly’s tenure heading the 10-member panel, especially over the Democratic majority’s housing initiatives. Herrity narrowly lost an election last year to succeed Connolly as chairman.
The Republican is expected to invoke the same argument — that Connolly and his party have let government grow unchecked — when seeking to oust him from Congress. As president of the U.S. House’s freshman class, Connolly has become Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “first lieutenant,” Herrity argued.
“Spending is out of control, there is a crying need for someone with a demonstrated track record of fiscally responsible leadership,” he told The Examiner. “I have demonstrated that in my business career, I’ve demonstrated it on the Board of Supervisors, and I will demonstrate it in the Congress of the United States.”
The 11th District encompasses both the Democratic-leaning Fairfax County suburbs and the more conservative enclaves of Prince William County. It is not considered the most likely Republican pickup among Virginia’s congressional districts, although recent electoral results show it to be politically disputed territory. After voting overwhelmingly for Barack Obama over John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, the district swung back in 2009 to support gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, a fiscal and social conservative.
Fimian said a primary challenge does not change his plans. While reserving most of his comments until after the official announcement, Fimian questioned Herrity’s several runs at higher office and suggested that “opportunistic ambition” is not what voters want, signaling a potentially ugly nomination contest.
Connolly declined to comment on Herrity’s entrance, and instead touted his own record.
“In Congress I have built on my local record of fiscal responsibility, expanded transportation and infrastructure investments, and vigorous support for our public schools,” he said.
