Virginia — 2nd District

VIRGINIA BEACH — Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria wants to recapture the seat she lost three years ago.

Luria is making a bid for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District with hopes of unseating Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans, whom she faced in the 2022 election. A wide field of Democratic candidates have launched campaigns for the district’s mid-term election next year.

Democrats see the district as one of their best chances to flip a Republican seat next year.

Luria’s running to help address Virginian’s rising costs of living, she said in a news release Wednesday morning.

“The hardworking people of Hampton Roads deserve a government that lowers costs, creates opportunities, and works to improve their lives,” she said. “Virginians are hungry for change, and I look forward to getting back to work for Hampton Roads to make life more affordable for working families, grow our economy, cut health care costs, and strengthen our military.”

Luria was first elected to Congress in 2018 and served two terms. She’s a former small-business owner and Navy veteran.

She’s represented the region before and after redistricting, represented very different areas.

In 2021, Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District was redrawn to include the entirety of the Eastern Shore; cities of Virginia Beach, Suffolk and Franklin; Isle of Wight County; and portions of Chesapeake and Southampton County.

The Kiggans campaign on Wednesday lambasted Luria’s tenure under former President Joe Biden’s administration and criticized her experience.

“Elaine Luria is still what she’s always been, an out-of-touch liberal, remembered for rubber-stamping Biden’s most destructive policies, including skyrocketing inflation and wide open borders, all while supporting unethical congressional insider stock trading,” a spokesperson for Kiggans said in an email. “She’s no more prepared to represent the people of the second district than she was when she lost the last time.”

Luria was a member of the select House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Biden pre-emptively pardoned Luria and other committee members in an effort to prevent the Trump administration from seeking retribution for their investigation.

After losing reelection, Luria held an academic fellowship at Georgetown University and was appointed to the board of directors of aerospace company BAE Systems Inc.

Luria joins several Democrat candidates vying for the same seat including Nila Devanath, a hospital physician from Hampton Roads; Patrick Mosolf, a former USAID contractor from Virginia Beach; James Osyf, a first-generation Ukrainian American and Navy reservist from Virginia Beach; Nicolaus Sleister, a military spouse; Burk Stringfellow, a Virginia Beach teacher; and Matt Strickler, a former Natural and Historic Resources secretary under Gov. Ralph Northam.

State Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Democrat representing District 22, was considering a bid for the 2nd Congressional District in recent days. Rouse is not going to run now that Luria has thrown her hat in the ring, he said.

Rouse and Luria have been supportive of each other through their political careers including when Luria endorsed Rouse in his unsuccessful primary bid for lieutenant governor earlier this year.

“I welcome former Congresswoman Elaine Luria and others who have stepped up to help replace Jen Kiggans,” Rouse said in a statement provided to The Virginian-Pilot. “We need all hands on deck to ensure we have a formidable candidate who knows our communities, will stand up for working families and will delivers real results for Hampton Roads. The people of Virginia’s Second Congressional District deserve effective leadership and I look forward to supporting the Democratic nominee who best meets this challenge and is positioned to defeat Jen Kiggans next November.”

The reverberation from Luria’s announcement was almost immediate. Democratic candidate Mike Williamson dropped out and endorsed Luria early Wednesday morning. In a news release, Williamson urged the other candidates to end their campaigns, too, and unite behind Luria.

But one of her competitors quickly doubled down on his candidacy and criticized Luria’s record.

“Yesterday’s establishment got us into this mess; they’re not going to get us out of it,” Osyf said in a news release. “This moment demands new leaders who know democracy is at a breaking point and are ready to fight for it – regardless of which way the political winds are blowing.”

Due to name recognition and having held the seat before, Luria will likely be the Democratic front runner. The National Republican Congressional Committee wasted no time in dismissing her chances, calling her “an out of touch liberal.”

“If Luria moves even further left than she already is to win a messy Democrat primary, she’ll have the honor of conceding to Jen Kiggans twice,” NRCC spokesperson Reilly Richardson said in an emailed statement.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]