Former Rep. Elaine Luria made her closing argument in her bid to once again represent Virginia’s 2nd District in Congress. The Democrat hosted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a rally in Virginia Beach on Halloween afternoon, which was also the final day of early voting in the commonwealth.
Unlike some races, the result in Virginia’s 2nd District is far from clear. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated the district as “leaning Democratic.” Yet the most recent poll, conducted by Christopher Newport University, showed the contest is within the 4-point margin of error.
Luria offered up a scary list of claims about the woman who knocked her out of Congress during the “red wave” election in 2022: current Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans.
“She’s a healthcare provider. She’ll look you in the eyes and say, ‘I care about your healthcare.’ But she voted for the ‘big, beautiful bill’ that guts Medicaid. We have 21,000 people in the 2nd Congressional District alone who are going to lose their healthcare,” Luria said. “[Kiggans] is also a veteran who represents one of the districts with the highest concentration of veterans in the country. She goes to Washington and votes to cut veterans’ benefits by 22%. We have the most undermanned VA hospital in the country, the Hampton VA.”
Luria, who represented the district from 2019 to 2023, also linked Kiggans to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. “Congress has voted seven times in support of tariffs,” Luria said. “They are costing every family across this district about $2,800 more each year. I’m starting to call these tariffs the Trump-Kiggans tax.”
The Democrat also noted that residents of the 2nd District are playing an outsized role in the war against Iran. “Probably about 25,000 people from our own community are going to have to deploy in support of this war,” Luria said. “Jen Kiggans continues to stand firmly with Trump in support of this war.”
Jeffries picked up on the Halloween theme when he took the stage. He said that the governing Republican Party hasn’t kept its 2024 campaign pledges. Instead, he quipped, MAGA has delivered “a graveyard of broken promises,” including Trump’s campaign promises to reduce prices and avoid wars in the Middle East. “For two years, the American people have been wondering: were they lying? Or are they just incompetent?” Jeffries asked. “I’ve come to the conclusion it is all of the above.”
“I also refer to Nov. 3 not simply as Election Day,” Jeffries jibed, “but as Judgment Day. Because in three days, the American people are going to judge these MAGA extremists and run them out of town.” He cited Pentagon head Pete Hegseth as a key target for impeachment if Democrats retake the House.
If the House flips, Jeffries is expected to be selected as Speaker of the House in January. Luria introduced him as such at the rally. Earlier this week Rep. Jennifer McClellan told the Daily Signal that she, too, will vote for him for Speaker, as she has already done many times.
McClellan, the Democrat who represents Virginia’s 4th District, is cruising to re-election on Tuesday, as is Democrat Bobby Scott of the 3rd District, who was at the Halloween rally along with the Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott. The men are not related, but Jeffries jokingly referred to them as the “Scott caucus.”
Kiggans will finish her campaign with her own Virginia Beach rally on Monday night. It will feature House Speaker Mike Johnson and former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who’s been spending plenty of time stumping for Republican candidates in this midterm cycle.
At the Halloween rally, Luria said that “the path to a majority in the House runs through Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.” Both women who are vying to represent the district seem to believe exactly that. The polls open at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
