A Virginia House district with one of the largest contingents of active-duty military personnel is likely to feature a 2022 campaign between two female Navy veterans.
Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans, a helicopter pilot for 10 years in the Navy, said Monday she’s running for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District. If Kiggans emerges as the GOP nominee, she’ll face Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, who was a Navy officer for 20 years, operating on combat ships.
Kiggans is a geriatric nurse practitioner and has represented Norfolk and Virginia Beach in Virginia’s 7th Senate District since November 2019. Prior to that, Kiggans was a naval aviator for 10 years, beginning in 1995.
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Luria won the seat in 2018 when she defeated then-Republican Rep. Scott Taylor, a retired Navy SEAL, by more than 2 percentage points. Luria beat Taylor again in 2020 by 5 points, with a 2018 election fraud scandal involving Taylor’s campaign staffers following him into his 2020 race.
Kiggans got to the Legislature after defeating Democratic Del. Cheryl Turpin by just over 500 votes, winning the seat previously held by Republican Sen. Frank Wagner, who retired last cycle.
Luria and Kiggans are likely to square off in a Virginia Beach-based district that has the largest concentration of military personnel outside of the Pentagon, with more than 86,000 active-duty military personnel. More than 75 federal facilities and defense installations are located in the district.
The contours of the 2nd Congressional District could still change, with an independent commission set to draw Virginia’s congressional and state district lines for the next decade. In the 2nd Congressional District as it currently stands, in 2020, President Joe Biden won 51.4% to 46.7% for former President Donald Trump.
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In her announcement video, Kiggans urges “all normal people with the courage to fight” to “forget about politics” and join her effort. “More government is never the answer. Cancel culture is simply unhelpful,” she says in her announcement video.
The liberal, one-party rule in Washington is wreaking havoc on our economy, our national security, & our Commonwealth. Our country needs us — it’s time to get off the couch.
I’m running for Congress to fight back & give #VA02 the results they deserve. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/uxOCJd2gGl
— Jen Kiggans (@JenKiggans) April 12, 2021
