Former Democratic Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria launched a comeback bid Wednesday to reclaim her former battleground seat in next year’s midterm elections.
Luria will enter a crowded Democratic primary to unseat Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, who defeated the ex-lawmaker to first win election to the House in 2022. Kiggans’ Virginia Beach-based district is likely to be one of the most competitive midterm contests and could help decide House control in 2026.
“I cannot sit back and watch as Republicans in Congress create chaos while failing to address the rising cost of living and the issues that matter to Coastal Virginians,” Luria said in a statement posted to X announcing her run. “Virginians are hungry for change, and I look forward to getting back to work for Hampton Roads.”
Though Kiggans’ district very narrowly swung toward President Donald Trump in 2024 — with the president winning it by 0.2 percentage points — Democratic Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger won the district by roughly seven points on Nov. 4.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, is expected to aggressively defend Kiggans’ seat. The group rolled out a video Tuesday highlighting Kiggans’ military service and focus on defense and veterans’ issues in Congress.
Kiggans has built out a reputation as a bipartisan lawmaker and is among a handful of Republicans who are advocating for an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits slated to expire at the year’s end.
“Retread loser Elaine Luria remains an out of touch liberal who rubber-stamped Biden’s destructive cost-raising, open borders agenda,” NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said in a statement. “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.”
At least one Democrat already in the race, Navy reservist James Osyf, signaled Tuesday that he would continue his campaign regardless of Luria’s entry.
“Yesterday’s establishment got us into this mess; they’re not going to get us out of it,” Osyf said in a statement prior to Luria’s campaign announcement.
Luria served two terms in the House between 2019 and 2023 and was a member of a bipartisan panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 riots. She and every other member of the Jan. 6 Committee received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden upon leaving office.
The Virginia Democrat sparked controversy in 2022 for her vocal opposition to a congressional stock trading ban.
“I think this whole concept is bullshit,” Luria told Punchbowl News, noting existing requirements to disclose trades.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Chip Roy of Texas, have rolled out a stock trading bill in September and are pushing for the legislation to receive floor action once the government is reopened.
Following Democrats’ strong performance in Virginia’s off-year elections, Democrats are barreling forward with a redistricting effort to flip several seats into the Democratic column in 2026. The expected redrawing of the state’s maps could target Kiggans’ purple seat as well as several of her Republican colleagues.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the contest as “Lean Republican” before Luria’s entry into the race.
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