FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Voters in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington will choose a replacement Tuesday for the late Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May after battling cancer.

Control of the U.S. House doesn't hang in the balance in the special congressional election, but it could narrow the Republican majority in the closely divided chamber as members return from the August recess.

Democrat James Walkinshaw is facing Republican Stewart Whitson. Walkinshaw is a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and previously served as Connolly’s chief of staff. Whitson is a former FBI special agent and Army veteran who oversees federal affairs for a conservative think tank. The two won their parties’ nominations in party-run primaries held in late June.

The seat is among

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