U.S. House race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Representative, Virginia District 2
Represents the district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which writes federal laws, approves the federal budget and taxes, and oversees the executive branch.
2-year term. The district covers Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Franklin, Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, and the Eastern Shore (Accomack and Northampton counties). Virginia is using its 2021 court-drawn congressional map in 2026 after the Supreme Court of Virginia voided the April 2026 redistricting referendum. Four candidates are on the ballot: Republican Jen Kiggans, Democrat Elaine Luria, and independents J. Matt Baker and Geral D. "Bishop" Staten. Write-in votes may also be cast.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Matt Baker
Retired Marine Corps colonel; energy-sector engineer and business development executiveMatt Baker, listed on the ballot as J. Matt Baker, is a retired Marine Corps colonel and energy-sector engineer running as an independent. He says running outside the parties lets him speak freely on the national debt, the war with Iran and campaign money, and says his campaign takes no PAC money.
Jen Kiggans
U.S. Representative, Virginia District 2 (since 2023)Jen Kiggans is a Republican, former Navy helicopter pilot and nurse practitioner who has represented the 2nd District since 2023 after serving in the Virginia Senate. Her campaign emphasizes national defense and military families, veterans, the economy and border security.
Elaine Luria
Former U.S. Representative, Virginia District 2 (2019–2023)Elaine Luria is a Democrat and retired Navy commander who represented the 2nd District from 2019 to 2023 and is seeking a rematch with Kiggans, who defeated her in 2022. Her campaign focuses on the cost of living, health care costs, congressional ethics rules, and veterans and military families.
Bishop Staten
Civil servant; community activistGeral D. "Bishop" Staten is an independent candidate from Suffolk who says he ran for mayor of Suffolk in 2016. In a candidate survey, he named affordability, public safety and equal opportunity as the policy areas he cares about most.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Matt Baker Independent | Jen Kiggans Republican | Elaine Luria Democratic | Bishop Staten Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | Supports a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country, with removal for those who commit crimes, and says a compromise should pair a lawful pathway with enforcement. | Supports increased border security funding, including 2025 funding to finish the border wall; cosponsored the Laken Riley Act; voted for the Secure America Act funding Customs and Border Protection and ICE through September 2029. | Says she supported border security measures in Congress while also backing a path to citizenship for those who follow the nation's laws. | No public position found yet |
| Elections & Democracy | No public position found yet | Cosponsored the Stop Insider Trading Act limiting stock purchases by members of Congress and introduced the ETHICS Act to bar members and their families from owning individual stocks; voted for the SAVE America Act requiring photo ID to vote. | Supports banning members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks and barring officials from betting on prediction markets with nonpublic information; says she supported legislation to overturn the Citizens United decision while in Congress. | No public position found yet |
| Foreign Policy | Says Congress should press for the objectives and timeline of the war with Iran, and that the removal of senior military leaders and distance from allies have weakened U.S. security. | No public position found yet | Opposes the war with Iran, calling it "another unnecessary and endless military intervention in the Middle East"; supports repealing the administration's tariffs. | No public position found yet |
| Health Care | No public position found yet | Says she led a bipartisan effort to renew and reform the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, including the CommonGround 2025 framework, and has backed bills to lower prescription costs and expand telehealth. | Supports restoring the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, expanding the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate and extending those prices to private insurance, and letting military children stay on a parent's Tricare plan until age 26. | No public position found yet |
| Social Security & Medicare | No public position found yet | Says she will protect Social Security and Medicare benefits for current and near-retirees, and opposes Medicare for All. | Says she opposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare and supports strengthening both programs. | No public position found yet |
| Abortion | Supports abortion rights, saying the decision belongs to the woman and her physician; says he personally agrees with the proposed Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment on Virginia's November ballot. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Economy & Jobs | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Virginia Scope reports he says he is running on the Democratic Socialists of America platform; the Tidewater DSA chapter has said it is not associated with him. |
| Energy & Environment | Says climate change is real and calls flood-resilience funding for Hampton Roads a first-term priority; says the federal halt of the offshore wind project off Virginia Beach added to its cost. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Guns | Says "The Second Amendment is the law of the land" and that "Common-sense regulation is also the law of the land." | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Taxes | No public position found yet | Says the 2025 tax law she supported made the 2017 tax cuts permanent and eliminated most taxes on tips and overtime; says she fought to expand the Child Tax Credit. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |