Sen. Jen Kiggans snags GOP nomination to face Virginia’s Rep. Elaine Luria

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State senator and Navy veteran Jen Kiggans won the Republican nomination Tuesday in Virginia’s coastal 2nd Congressional District.

Kiggans, a nurse practitioner, will go on to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in what’s expected to be a competitive general election contest that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House.

“This is our chance to retake control of our country. It’s time to restore American strength in our economy, at our borders, and on the world stage. Now let’s get to work!!!” tweeted Kiggans, who was expected to give remarks at a watch party later in the evening.

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Voters also were picking a Republican nominee Tuesday for Virginia’s competitive 7th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Abigail Spanberger. Six candidates were in the race.

In the 2nd District, Kiggans defeated three opponents, including far-right Jarome Bell, who called himself the “MAGA candidate” and had called for executing anyone involved in what he claimed was widespread voter fraud.

A former Navy helicopter pilot and a geriatric nurse practitioner, Kiggans has represented parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk in the state Senate since 2020. Several voters who spoke with The Associated Press said they were backing her because they thought she was the best positioned to flip the district in November.

Marianne Winn, 83, said Kiggans came to her home while campaigning and showed concern for senior citizens as well as nursing homes. Winn said she’s also particularly concerned about what she called President Joe Biden’s failure to deal with rising inflation, particularly food prices.

“I buy chocolate morsels to make chocolate chip cookies,” said Winn, who retired from working in an elementary school cafeteria. “They were $2.25 and now they’re $3.58 …. Everything has gone up.”

Like Kiggans, Luria is also a Navy veteran. She’s currently on the Jan. 6 committee investigating the 2021 attack on the Capitol and has cultivated a congressional identity as a centrist since flipping the district blue under its previous lines in 2018. She’s expected to face a tough challenge under the new lines.

The 2nd District covers much of Virginia’s coast, including the city of Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore.

Former President Donald Trump didn’t endorse in the 2nd District or in the 7th, which was entirely reshaped thanks to redistricting, which shifted it away from the Richmond suburbs. It now covers a stretch of cities and counties between Charlottesville and the Washington suburbs. Leading into Tuesday, the GOP nomination fight was seen as more unsettled, with several contenders claiming momentum.

State Sen. Bryce Reeves, an Army veteran and former police detective, is facing off against Derrick Anderson, a former Green Beret and Georgetown Law graduate, and Yesli Vega, a local elected official with law enforcement experience who’s picked up high-profile endorsements. Also in the race are Crystal Vanuch and David Ross, who serve on local boards of supervisors, and Gina Ciarcia, an educator who has trailed the pack in fundraising.

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A former CIA case officer, Spanberger like Luria flipped a competitive GOP-held seat in 2018 and is now competing under lines that Gov. Glenn Youngkin would have won, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.

Spanberger said in a statement Tuesday that no matter who wins, each of her potential opponents has proven to be “far too extreme” and failed to offer any kind of plan to tackle the problems facing Virginians.”

“I look forward to debating the issues with my opponent and winning reelection,” she said.

Several other districts featured far less competitive contests Tuesday. In northern Virginia’s 8th District, four-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Don Beyer defeated progressive first-time candidate Victoria Virasingh.

Beyer, who was the only Democratic incumbent to face a primary challenger, said in a statement that he was humbled to have earned the voters’ trust and thanked Virasingh for her “spirited challenge.”

In the deep red Shenandoah Valley-based 6th District, GOP Rep. Ben Cline defeated challenger Merritt Hale. And voters in the overwhelmingly blue-leaning 3rd District tapped Republican Terry Namkung to take on incumbent Rep. Bobby Scott.

Several of Virginia’s other crowded GOP nomination contests were settled earlier during party-run processes.

Associated Press reporter Ben Finley contributed to this report.