Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) won the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District on Aug. 4, setting up a rematch with incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.).
Luria easily defeated physician and attorney Nila Devanath, scientist Bill Fleming, and former development aid professional Patrick Mosolf.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising and campaign arm of House Democrats, backed Luria in the primary, putting her in its “Red to Blue” program.
“Elaine Luria’s record of service to her country and to the Commonwealth is second to none. She’s answering the call to serve once again because Coastal Virginians deserve a representative who will fight to make life more affordable, expand access to health care, and honor the commitments we’ve made to our veterans,” the committee’s chair, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), said in a statement.
Luria’s campaign centered on banning members of Congress from trading stocks and reforming campaign finance laws. She also emphasized lowering prescription drug costs and cost of living, supporting veterans and seniors, and protecting abortion access.
“We are living under the second Trump administration, and people are suffering. People are paying more for every single thing, whether it’s the gas pump or the grocery store, whether their loved one is deployed right now,” Luria told WVEC-TV.
Kiggans, who did not face an opponent in the GOP primary, is campaigning on lowering the cost of living, growing jobs, securing the border, prioritizing national security, improving education, delivering for veterans, reforming healthcare, protecting Medicare and Social Security, holding China accountable, defending the Second Amendment, and protecting women’s sports.
She defeated Luria in the 2022 midterms.
The Cook Political Report rated the district as a toss-up.
7th District Primary
Meanwhile, in the 7th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) will face Army veteran Douglas Ollivant in the November election. Ollivant defeated entrepreneur Philip Harding and pastor Rick Smithers in the GOP primary. Republicans are looking to flip this district in their quest to retain control of the House.
Ollivant’s platform included improving agriculture to help farmers, enabling housing affordability for families, lowering taxes and cutting wasteful spending, securing the border, helping veterans, supporting law enforcement, protecting women’s sports, defending the Second Amendment, and restoring American manufacturing.
The Cook Political Report rated the race as “Likely Democratic.”
In conversations with voters in the 7th Congressional District, where turnout was low, residents expressed to The Epoch Times different views about the issues they care about.
Joan Hammond, an independent voter, said that the safety of Americans is an important matter for her. This includes securing the border.
“If they want to come, they’re more than welcome. But they’ve got to do what we do here. They need to work. They need to come legally, and I think that would be fine,” she said, noting that her grandparents immigrated to the United States from Greece.
Robyn, who declined to give her last name, said that her biggest issue is the construction of data centers, many of which exist in northern Virginia
“I think it’s destroying our environment, and I just I think for so many reasons we need to put a moratorium on it, slow them down, halt them,” she said. “The water is a problem, the electric grid’s a problem. People’s health is going to become a problem for so many reasons.”
She also said that she is concerned about the environment.
“The aquifers are low in our state as they’re getting to be across the entire country, and that’s a huge deal. I mean, people need water, and just because we have it right this minute, I don’t think people are focusing on it,” she said. “And the environment, there’s so much pollution, and that includes for data centers, it includes noise, light, environmental.”
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