Former Democrat Rep. Elaine Luria’s latest campaign ad touts an endorsement from a small business owner, but neither the business nor its owner is located in the congressional district she’s seeking to represent. The ad comes as Luria faces questions about living outside the district she is running to represent.
Luria is running in Virginia’s 2nd District seeking to unseat Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., while living in Virginia’s 3rd District. She released a new ad touting an endorsement from a small business owner who claims she was “instrumental” in growing his business. However, the endorsing restaurant is located in Virginia’s 3rd District, like Luria.
“Someone might want to send Elaine Luria a map of the congressional district she’s running to represent,” Calvin Moore, a Kiggans campaign spokesman, told the Daily Signal.
Mo Stevenson, owner and chef at My Mama’s Kitchen in Norfolk, Virginia, appeared in the ad titled “Great Recipe.”
“Food costs more and customers got less to spend,” Stevenson says, claiming Luria is the solution.
“Elaine was instrumental in helping my business get where it is today. That’s how I know she’ll fight to bring down everyday costs like health care and groceries,” he continued.
The restaurant owner confirmed to the Daily Signal that he lived in a different district than the one Luria is running in but said he did not feel comfortable answering how exactly Luria helped him and his business.
“I don’t really feel comfortable answering too many questions about the ad,” Stevenson told the Daily Signal.
“I don’t really get wrapped up in all that stuff. I try to remain, like, you know, we try to stay out of stuff, you know? We don’t want to offend anybody or do anything like that, so I kind of try to remain out of those things,” he continued, stating he did not have time to answer any other questions.
However, Stevenson has appeared in an ad for Luria before, in her 2020 campaign for reelection, which she lost to Kiggans. Then, in 2021, the state redistricted, and Stevenson’s restaurant and Luria’s home were changed to Virginia’s 3rd District.
“As a 20-year Navy veteran and former Hampton Roads small business owner, Elaine championed relief for small businesses like Mo’s in Congress before she was redrawn out of the district,” a Luria spokesperson told the Daily Signal when asked why the campaign would feature an out-of-district business.
Luria’s campaign avoided answering why it did not feature a small business within Virginia’s 2nd District in the ad. The campaign also did not answer whether the Democrat was still planning on moving to the district if elected.
“Elaine Luria couldn’t find a single business owner in the district to feature in her latest ad, and four years after promising to move here, she still hasn’t managed to find a home here either. She has, however, found plenty of time and money to buy another house in Norfolk and continue making millions in the stock market,” Moore said.
The ad is part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s coordinated spending in battleground districts and was the second one put out in this district. According to the committee, the ad “spotlights how Luria helped small business owners like the one featured in the ad and will fight to bring down everyday costs like health care and groceries when she gets back to Washington.”
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
