Elaine Luria
Democratic
U.S. Representative for Virginia's 2nd district from 2019 to 2023; retired Navy commander
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U.S. House · Nov 3, 2026
U.S. House race in Virginia’s 2nd district
Incumbent: Jen Kiggans, running for re-election.
Republican Jen Kiggans faces Democrat Elaine Luria, who held the seat from 2019 to 2023, and two independents; candidates are listed in the order of the state's candidate list.
The 4 candidates
Jen Kiggans
RepublicanIncumbentU.S. Representative for Virginia's 2nd district since 2023; former Navy helicopter pilot and nurse practitioner
Bishop Staten
IndependentSuffolk community activist; ran for mayor of Suffolk in 2016
Matt Baker
IndependentRetired U.S. Marine Corps colonel; energy-sector engineer
Where they stand
What each candidate says they support or would do, on the issues they campaign on. Summaries use the same neutral words for everyone and link to the candidate’s own words.
AI verified
Researched with AI and confirmed by a second, independent AI check. Our editors haven’t reviewed it yet. How we verify
Health care
DemocraticElaine Luria
Would restore ACA premium subsidies, expand the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate, let military children stay on their parents' Tricare plan until age 26, and restore Medicaid funding she says was cut to pay for tax cuts.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Says she led a bipartisan effort to renew and reform Affordable Care Act premium tax credits; supports expanding Medicare coverage and virtual health care, lowering prescription costs and expanding mental health resources.
IndependentBishop Staten
Supports free Medicare for All and keeping local hospitals open; supports a bonus raise for emergency service workers.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Immigration
DemocraticElaine Luria
Supports efforts to deter illegal immigration and strengthen border security, along with a pathway to citizenship for those who follow the nation's laws.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Supports President Trump's border security efforts; supported increased border security funding, including $47 billion to finish the border wall, and cosponsored the Laken Riley Act.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Supports a path to citizenship for immigrants, with removal of those who commit crimes; says he would negotiate a compromise that includes enforcement.
Abortion
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Says abortion laws should be set by the states, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother; supports access to birth control and contraception and protecting access to IVF.
IndependentBishop Staten
Says women should make decisions about their own bodies and that he stands for women's rights.
IndependentMatt Baker
Supports a woman's right to choose, saying the decision should be hers with advice from her physician; says he agrees with the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment on Virginia's November ballot.
Social Security & Medicare
DemocraticElaine Luria
Supports strengthening Medicare and Social Security and opposes cuts to those programs.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Says she will protect Medicare and Social Security so that people receiving or close to receiving benefits do not have them touched; opposes Medicare for All.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Foreign policy
DemocraticElaine Luria
Calls the war in Iran an unnecessary and endless military intervention in the Middle East; would serve as a check against what she calls reckless foreign wars.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Says Congress should ask hard questions about the objectives of the war with Iran and when they will be achieved; says distancing the U.S. from its allies makes Americans less safe.
Veterans
DemocraticElaine Luria
Would work to reverse DOGE cuts to veterans' care and cut red tape at the VA; says she helped pass the PACT Act, which expanded veterans' benefits.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Says she fought to fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs; chairs the House Veterans' Affairs oversight subcommittee and introduced bills to modernize the VA and add mental health resources for veterans' caregivers.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Environment
DemocraticElaine Luria
Would continue efforts to address the effects of climate change on Hampton Roads, fight offshore drilling, restore the Chesapeake Bay and protect clean air and water; says she founded the bipartisan Offshore Wind Caucus.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Ethics
DemocraticElaine Luria
Supports banning members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks, barring officials from trading prediction-market contracts on nonpublic information, mandatory jail time for members who steal taxpayer funds, and overturning Citizens United.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Taxes
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Supported the 2025 tax law, which she says made the 2017 tax cuts permanent and eliminated most taxes on tips and overtime; says she fought to expand the Child Tax Credit.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Defense
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
Supports a well-funded military; says she secured funding for infrastructure at Hampton Roads military installations, including child care facilities, and introduced legislation to pay troops during a government shutdown.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Housing
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
Supports affordable housing for all, a national rent freeze and a moratorium on evictions.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Trade
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
Supports restoring Congress's authority over broad tariffs, and expanding wage insurance, apprenticeships, relocation assistance and retraining, made measurable and temporary, for workers when Congress exposes an industry to foreign competition.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Technology
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
Opposes Flock cameras and other automatic license plate readers, saying they invade privacy and burden working people.
IndependentMatt Baker
No published position found.
Elections & democracy
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Says a candidate who cannot plainly say that organized individuals attacked the Capitol on January 6 is not ready to serve; supports independent redistricting nationwide and restoring consensus requirements for lifetime judicial appointments.
Budget
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Supports passing budgets on time with tradeoffs stated openly; says voting to add trillions to the national debt is not fiscal conservatism.
Guns
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Says both the Second Amendment and gun regulation are the law of the land and that he will not treat them as contradictory.
Energy
DemocraticElaine Luria
No published position found.
RepublicanJen Kiggans
No published position found.
IndependentBishop Staten
No published position found.
IndependentMatt Baker
Says the aging power grid is a national security issue; says the federal government's halt of the offshore wind project off Virginia Beach was driven by politics rather than security.
Who’s on the ballot: sources
- ListVirginia Department of Elections: 2026 November Federal Offices Candidate List (November 3, 2026 General Election)(opens in a new tab)
- ListVirginia Mercury: Luria and Kiggans rematch in Va.'s 2nd Congressional District among most-watched races in nation(opens in a new tab)
- ListWikipedia: 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia(opens in a new tab)