Victory keeps Fairfax-based seat in Democratic hands after former Del. Mark Sickles joins Spanberger administration.
Democrat Garrett McGuire on Tuesday defeated Republican Christopher Cardiff in a special election to represent Virginia House of Delegates District 17, filling the vacancy left by longtime Democratic lawmaker Mark Sickles, who has joined Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration as secretary of finance.
By 8 p.m., McGuire led Cardiff with 80.4-19.5% out of 4,360 votes cast, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
The victory allows Democrats to retain the Fairfax County–based seat, which has been reliably blue in recent election cycles and includes parts of Franconia, Rose Hill and surrounding communities.
McGuire will serve the remainder of Sickles’ term, which runs through 2027. He is expected to be sworn in in the coming days.
Sickles, a Democrat first elected to the House in 2003, stepped down late last year after Spanberger tapped him to lead the state’s finance portfolio, a move that triggered the special election.
His departure was one of several that have reshaped the House since Democrats regained control of the chamber, as multiple lawmakers have left to join the new administration or pursue higher office.
In a statement Tuesday night, House Democrats praised McGuire’s win.
“We’re excited to welcome Garrett to the House Democratic Caucus and to work alongside him to deliver a Virginia that lowers costs for families, keeps our communities safe, and stands firm against (President Donald) Trump’s attacks on Virginians’ rights and freedoms,” the caucus said.
McGuire, a longtime Fairfax County public policy professional and community leader, has chaired the board of United Community — the largest nonprofit serving the Route 1 corridor — and previously led the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, where he helped steer mental health and disability services through the COVID-19 pandemic and a major staffing shortage, his campaign biography says.
District 17 has favored Democrats by comfortable margins in recent statewide races. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the district supported Democratic nominees for governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor in the most recent general election, and Democrats hold a significant edge in voter registration.