Take Action Virginia Archive

VA-02 (Luria), VA-07 (Spanberger)

Redistricting left Virginia with four solid Democratic districts, one competitive Democratic district, one highly competitive district, three competitive Republican districts, and two solid Republican districts. VA-02 and VA-07 are considered the most competitive of the 11 districts in the state. Of the three members of Congress who were drawn out of their current districts, two are Democrats – Elaine Luria (VA-02) and Abigail Spanberger (VA-07)

The 2nd Virginia district is slightly more red. A total of the new district still includes 50.1% Biden voters vs. 48.2% Trump, but the Biden figure represents a 1.3% decrease from the previous boundaries of the district but Cook Political Report rates VA-02 as a Democratic Tossup.

Rep. Elaine Luria has raised almost double of what her Republican opponent, Jennifer Kiggans, has raised. As a retired Navy commander and small business owner, Luria was first elected to Congress in the 2018 Blue Wave. She’s a staunch supporter of a woman’s right to choose and believes in commonsense gun regulations. Kiggans, a state senator , has a 100% rating from the NRA and backs a nationwide abortion ban. Kiggans had three opponents in the primary and spent heavily to beat them. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing House Republicans, has thrown its support to Kiggans. But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is spending big on ads for Luria and VA-07’s Spanberger to counter the GOP attacks.

Abigail Spanberger’s district – VA-07 – is about 5 points more Democratic because it now extends north into the communities just outside the D.C. suburbs. Cook rates it as a Lean D. Spanberger is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress. Her campaign website proclaims her as “the only pro-choice candidate in the Seventh District.” She supports the Second Amendment but also commonsense gun laws.

Spanberger is facing Yesli Vega, a relative political newcomer who works in the county sheriff’s office and who opposes gun law reforms. Although her campaign website is scrubbed of all mention of abortion, in a June GOP candidate survey, she responded that she supports “a law to protect innocent life from conception to natural death,” and has said she doubts pregnancy can result from rape.

Both the DCCC and the NRCC have named VA-07 as a priority race. The DCCC named Spanberger as a 2022 Frontline Member, providing her campaign resources meant to help her win re-election. The NRCC included this district in its list of Democratic-held target seats and named Vega as an "On the Radar" member of its Young Guns program.