Greetings all. While our new Virginia maps were struck down today there are still two Virginia House seats we can flip this November - Shannon Taylor in VA-01, and Elaine Luria in VA-02. We interviewed Taylor a few weeks ago, and yesterday I sat down with Luria. A video recording and rough transcript of our discussion can be found above.
VA-02 is one of our best opportunities for a House pick up this cycle. The incumbent only won by 4 points in 2024, Trump only won by 0.2% according to the Downballot, and the Cook Partisan Vote Index as this as a dead even D and R district. Given how much the national landscape has shifted towards us VA-02 even under the current map is very ripe for the picking in November.
And we have a great candidate - former Congresswoman Elaine Luria who is running again to reclaim a seat she held for two terms, from 2019 through 2023. You may recognize Luria, as during her time in Congress she served as Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. Part of the reason she lost a very close race in 2022 was because Republicans went all in against someone who had become a very high profile critic of Trump and his attempted coup in 2021, something that they are sure to do again this time.
Luria is one of the twelve candidates in our Winning The House campaign, a collection of candidates most likely to flip red House seats blue this year and retake the House for Democrats next January. You can support her by giving to all twelve candidates with one contribution split evenly among them, or by giving to Luria directly. You can learn more or volunteer for her campaign here.
A contribution to the twelve will also benefit Shannon Taylor in VA-01, or you can give to her directly here too.
Luria, a graduate of the Naval Academy and a 20 year veteran of the Navy, is fighting to reclaim a district with some of the highest levels of active duty military and veterans in the country. Here she talks about her record fighting for veterans, and her disappointment in how Trump and her opponent are treating those who served:
Talking about the number of military and veterans in this district… we have one of the highest concentrations of active duty, one of the highest concentrations of veterans. And when I compare and contrast the work I did in Congress versus the incumbent, my opponent, there are just a lot of things that we can talk about. I was very bipartisan, one of the most bipartisan members in my freshman class. We were able to do a lot for veterans. We passed the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act. A lot of people might not be aware, but those Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange serving off the coast of Vietnam never had access to VA health care until roughly 2019-2021 when this legislation was passed.
Our newer generation of veterans, those who served in the Middle East, have been exposed to burn pits, a lot of respiratory issues, cancers. They're struggling too with getting health care from the VA. And working with my colleagues, we were able to pass the PACT Act, which is the largest increase in access to veterans care in our lifetime.
And it's just really disheartening to now see, under the Trump administration, all the cuts that are happening. The VA here is the most understaffed in the entire country, yet we have one of the highest concentrations of veterans. And a representative [Jen Kiggans] who has really been incapable of getting the resources for our veterans that they need.
Our Virginia maps failed but we can win two of those seats we lost today by electing Elaine Luria and Shannon Taylor to Congress this November. Let’s turn today’s disappointment into something meaningful by supporting these two very worthy candidates today! - Simon
Bio - Former U.S. Representative Elaine Luria, now running again in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District
At only 17 years old, Elaine wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself and joined the Navy. On her first day in uniform, she was inspired by the Naval Academy’s Mission to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government. Elaine served for 20 years as a Surface Warfare Officer and nuclear engineer, deploying six times and conducting operations in the Middle East and Western Pacific on destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers.
Elaine used her experience in the Navy and as a small business owner to run for Congress in 2018, where she served as the representative for Virginia’s Second Congressional District, winning a second term in 2020. Elaine served until 2023, when the second was redrawn.
In Congress, Elaine delivered for Hampton Roads, securing direct investments in our communities, passing legislation to provide three cost-of-living increases for veterans, cutting health care and prescription drug costs and leading the most significant expansion of veterans’ health care in our lifetime--the PACT Act.
She served as Vice Chair on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Homeland Security, and the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Elaine looks forward to getting back to work to make life more affordable for working families, cut health care costs and support our communities throughout Hampton Roads in Congress.
