RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia voters on Tuesday elected Democrat Jennifer 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.
"We will make this commonwealth and this country a better place for everyone," McClellan told supporters in Richmond. "I am ready to get to work."
McClellan, 50, prevailed over Republican nominee Leon Benjamin in the special election for the blue-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border.
The seat was open after the death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who passed away following a long fight with the secondary effects of colorectal cancer in November, weeks after being elected to a fourth term. McClellan's election won't change the balance of power of the U.S. House, which Republicans narrowly control.
Prior to Tuesday, only 22 states had ever elected a Black woman to Congress, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of historical records.
"It's a huge honor, and responsibility, to ensure that I'm not the last," she said in an interview last week.
An associate general counsel for Verizon, where she's worked for 20 years, McClellan has represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly for nearly as long.
At the statehouse, she's sponsored many of Democrats' top legislative priorities in recent years, including bills that expanded voting access and abortion rights and legislation that set ambitious clean energy mandates.
Now the mother of two school-aged children, McClellan was the first delegate to serve while pregnant and give birth while in office after she joined the state House in 2006.
McClellan also followed in McEachin's footsteps when she moved up to the state Senate. She announced her candidacy for a seat he previously held after he was first elected to Congress in 2016, and she easily won a January 2017 special election.
She graduated from a suburban Richmond high school, attended the University of Richmond and obtained her law degree from the University of Virginia, initially with a goal of becoming an attorney for a congressional committee.
She's been active in the state Democratic party since she was in college and met her husband, David Mills, through politics. They were married by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a mentor and adviser of McClellan who campaigned with her over the weekend.
McClellan pledged in her speech Tuesday to serve as a unifier.
"We can prove that when we come together and we care more about doing the work and solving the problems than soundbites and the show, that we can help people," she said.
McClellan and Benjamin did not meet for a debate.
McClellan largely focused her message on her legislative record rather than highlighting Benjamin's positions. She far outraised Benjamin, a pastor and Navy veteran who was endorsed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other top Virginia Republicans.
The race marked the third loss in a row for Benjamin, who twice previously challenged McEachin.
McClellan's victory Tuesday will set up another special election to fill her seat in the General Assembly.
Congressman Bobby Scott D-Virginia introduces Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan at her election party after winning the Virginia's 4th Congressional District, 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)
Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn D- Springfield attends a 4th Congressional District election party for state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, 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)
Jackson Mills points to his mom, Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan as she gives a victory speech at her election party, in Richmond, Va., after winning the seat for Virginia's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)
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)
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)
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)
FILE - U.S. Rep. Don McEachin D-4th. waves during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Voters in a Richmond-based Virginia congressional district will settle a special election Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, for the open seat previously held by the late Rep. McEachin, who died in November shortly after being elected to a fourth term. Democratic nominee Jennifer McClellan faces GOP opponent, pastor Leon Benjamin. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
Leon Benjamin is the Republican candidate for the 4th congressional district seat, in Richmond, Va., Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. Voters in the Richmond-based Virginia congressional district are deciding on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, who will represent an open seat previously held by the late Democratic U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin. Benjamin faces opponent Democratic nominee Jennifer McClellan, a veteran state legislator. (Alexa Welch Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, greets chief election officer and college friend Sheryl Johnson, right, at the Tabernacle Baptist Church polling station in Richmond, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 as, from left, election workers Katie Johnson and Eric Johnson look on. McClellan is running to succeed Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th. McClellan would be the first African American woman to represent Virginia in Congress and would give Virginia a record four women in its congressional delegation. (Eva Russo/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)