Who's running in Virginia's 2nd congressional district
4 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
4 candidates · ballot order · Jen Kiggans currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Military readiness, shipbuilding and support for the Hampton Roads defence economy.
Veterans' health care, drawn from her Navy service and nursing career.
Lower taxes and reduced federal spending.
Coastal resilience and flood mitigation.
Support for President Trump's legislative agenda.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative for the 2nd District since January 2023; re-elected in 2024 with 50.7%.
Virginia state senator from 2020 to 2023; former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot; geriatric nurse practitioner.
Voted for the 2025 budget reconciliation bill after joining an open letter opposing parts of it, and voted against extending the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits she had earlier written in support of extending.
Reported $5,954,338 raised as of July 15, 2026, against Luria's $4,659,795.
Won the June 2026 Republican primary unopposed.
Arguments in favor
She has the full weight of the party behind her — President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and former governor Glenn Youngkin — along with the Log Cabin Republicans, Maggie's List and the ClearPath Foundation, an unusual mix for a Republican in a district this closely divided.
— Endorsements from the officials and organisations named
She out-raised her opponent by roughly $1.3 million and has already beaten her once in this district, in 2022.
— Federal Election Commission filings; 2022 results
Arguments against
In May 2026 she said "That's right. Ditto. Yes. Yes to that" after a radio host said Hakeem Jeffries should get his "cotton-picking hands off of Virginia." She declined to apologise, calling the reaction a distortion; the DCCC demanded an apology for "openly racist and vile remarks" and Jeffries's office called it "a stunning failure of judgment and leadership for a so-called moderate."
— Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the office of Hakeem Jeffries, May 2026
Luria argues her record contradicts her moderate positioning on health care: she signed a letter supporting extension of the ACA premium tax credits and then voted against it, and voted for the 2025 reconciliation bill's Medicaid reductions after signing a letter opposing parts of the bill. More than 300,000 Virginians are projected to lose Medicaid coverage.
— Elaine Luria campaign and the DCCC; ACA and Medicaid coverage projections reported by Dogwood
What we couldn’t verify
Kiggans says the "ditto" was agreement with the host's point about redistricting rather than with his language, and that she does not condone it. Whether she understood the phrase's history at the moment she spoke is not established.
Blue Virginia, an explicitly partisan Democratic site, has published further claims about the local effects of her votes. Those are noted here rather than used as arguments.
Her position on the district's federal workforce reductions was not established from the sources found.
Protecting Medicaid and extending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
Shipbuilding and the Navy's presence in Hampton Roads, drawn from her service.
Abortion rights.
Coastal resilience and sea-level rise.
Continued United States support for Israel.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative for the 2nd District from January 2019 to January 2023; lost to Jen Kiggans in 2022.
Retired U.S. Navy commander with twenty years' service in the surface fleet; one of the first women to serve a full career in combatant ships.
Served on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Won the June 2026 Democratic primary against Nila Devanath, Bill Fleming and Patrick Mosolf.
Filed suit in September 2026 to remove independent Bishop Staten from the ballot over signature validity, then said it would file a non-suit once the Department of Elections supplied the information sought.
Reported $4,659,795 raised as of July 15, 2026.
Arguments in favor
She has both Virginia senators, Governor Abigail Spanberger, seven House colleagues, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, along with EMILYs List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, VoteVets, the League of Conservation Voters, Brady PAC and 314 Action.
— Endorsements from the officials and organisations named
National Democrats made her a Red to Blue candidate, and forecasters have moved the race toward her over 2026 — Decision Desk HQ now rates it lean Democratic flip and Race to the WH tilt Democratic — while she goes into the autumn with more cash on hand than the incumbent.
— DCCC Red to Blue; Decision Desk HQ and Race to the WH ratings; Federal Election Commission filings
Arguments against
The NRCC calls her a "retread loser" and "an out of touch liberal who rubber-stamped Biden's destructive cost-raising, open borders agenda" — the argument being that voters here already removed her once, in 2022.
— National Republican Congressional Committee
Her campaign sued the Department of Elections to knock independent Bishop Staten off the ballot over eighteen signatures, in a district where a third candidate could cost her votes. She has since said she will withdraw the suit, describing it as due diligence rather than an attempt to narrow the field.
— Luria campaign's September 2026 filing in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, reported by Virginia Scope
What we couldn’t verify
Her primary rival Nila Devanath was endorsed by US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, and Luria carries Democratic Majority for Israel — an indication of disagreement on the left over her position on Israel — but no organisation was found making that criticism of her by name in this cycle.
Whether the suit against Staten has in fact been withdrawn was not established; her campaign said in September it planned to file a non-suit.
Health care affordability through wider insurance coverage and clearer billing.
Removing non-financial barriers to care, such as transportation.
Strengthening the health care workforce.
A "common sense" approach he presents as outside both parties.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Lifelong resident of Suffolk; a civil servant.
Has run for local office in Suffolk, including for mayor.
Submitted 1,667 nominating signatures; the Department of Elections invalidated 653, leaving 1,014 — fourteen more than the 1,000 required.
Elaine Luria's campaign sued in September 2026 to have eighteen more struck, which would have removed him from the ballot, and then said it would withdraw the suit.
Has not held elected office.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Staten's positions could be found, and no published case for him beyond his voter-guide answers. The only conflict on the record is the ballot-access suit, which is recorded above. Because no case against him exists on the record, none is presented for him either.
Wikipedia states he runs on a Democratic Socialists of America platform while the local DSA chapter denies any affiliation, and that he has a long history of supporting President Trump. Neither could be confirmed from a primary or news source, so both are recorded here rather than in his positions.
No campaign website, fundraising figures or endorsements were found; the state's certified list shows no website for him.
That the 2020 election was legitimate — a position he states first.
Abortion as a woman's decision, with government staying out of it.
Refusing donations from billionaires and super PACs.
Treating sea-level rise as an engineering problem requiring action.
Gun rights alongside what he calls common-sense regulation.
Reducing special-interest influence on United States policy toward Israel and the Palestinians, on both sides.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Retired United States Marine Corps colonel; twenty-eight years of service including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1987.
Has criticised recent dismissals of senior military officers.
Qualified for the November 2026 ballot as an independent.
Has not held elected office.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Baker by name could be found — not from either major-party campaign, not from a party committee, and not in Hampton Roads news coverage — and no published case for him beyond his own campaign site. Because no case against him exists on the record, none is presented for him either.
He names no opponent on his campaign site.
No fundraising figures or endorsements were found; by his own account he accepts no super PAC or billionaire money.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Virginia held its primaries in June 2026. Four candidates appear on the November ballot: Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans, Democrat Elaine Luria and independents Geral "Bishop" Staten and J. Matt Baker. The roster is confirmed against the Virginia Department of Elections certified federal candidate list for the November 3, 2026 general election, revised September 8, 2026. The district covers Hampton Roads — Chesapeake, Franklin, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore — and has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of EVEN, with a long history of ticket splitting. This is a rematch: Kiggans, then a state senator, unseated Luria in 2022. Every forecaster calls it a tossup or better for Luria, and it is among the most closely watched House races in the country.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Virginia ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Virginia Department of Elections.