Gerry Connolly, a Democratic congressman from Virginia who previously served as the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ key oversight committee, died on Wednesday, according to an announcement from his family.
Connolly, who was 75, had served in Congress since 2009.
“Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better,” his family said in a statement posted on social media.
“He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just. He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax county Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many.”
Connolly announced in November 2024, after he was re-elected, that he was battling esophageal cancer. He stepped down from his role as ranking member on the high-profile committee in late April, saying his cancer, which he said was “initially beaten back”, had returned. He announced then that he would not be running for re-election.
He had sought the oversight role in December 2024, beating out Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive New York congresswoman. Some Democrats were critical of Connolly’s committee election, which came at a time when other senior committee members were in effect pressured to step aside in favor of younger representatives amid calls for a generational shift.
He is one of three Democratic congresspeople to have died in office in the last three months, following Raúl Grijalva and Sylvester Turner.
Connolly, born in Boston, worked for a decade in the 1980s with the US Senate committee on foreign relations, then served in elected roles in Fairfax county, mostly on the wealthy northern Virginia area’s board of supervisors.
Connolly was pro-growth and pro-business and had “played a large part in Northern Virginia’s transformation from a bedroom community into a thriving technology hub”, The Washington Post said. During Connolly’s time in Congress, the district he represented moved from a swing area to firmly blue.
A large number of federal employees live in Connolly’s district, and he served as a stalwart supporter of the federal workforce as Trump sought to weaken federal unions and worker protections.
After he announced he would not seek re-election, Connolly endorsed his former chief of staff and Fairfax county board supervisor James Walkinshaw, who is running to replace his old boss.
Jamie Raskin, the representative who preceded Connolly in the oversight committee role, said he was “crushingly sad to learn of the passing of Gerry Connolly, my friend, colleague and fierce champion of federal workers, public integrity and the people of Virginia (though he never surrendered his hearty south Boston accent). May his memory be a blessing to us all.”
Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, offered his condolences on X, saying “his decades of public service reflect a deep commitment to Virginia”.
