VIRGINIA — Former Rep. Elaine Luria launched a campaign to reclaim Virginia's 2nd Congressional District seat in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary, setting up a potential rematch against Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans. Luria, 50, first won the seat in the 2018 midterms, was re-elected in 2020 and lost to Kiggans in 2022.

"I think that we're going to have the resources, the momentum and the support from the voters to flip [control of] the House," Luria said. "The wind is on our back."

She said there was "grave concern" in and beyond her Virginia district about how President Donald Trump's second administration began with cuts to the federal government, and that Trump started a war in Iran that has sent gasoline prices higher and is expected to raise the cost of other goods and services. "All indicators are that the majority of people in the country do not see the president favorably," she said. An NBC News poll of more than 32,000 U.S. adults found 37% approved of Trump's performance in the Oval Office.

She said Trump's approval rating gives her an opening against Kiggans, whom she called a "rubber stamp" vote for the president since his return to the Oval Office in 2025. She said other Democratic candidates trying to flip or retain House seats are in a similar position because midterm elections historically tend to disadvantage the incumbent president's party.

The Democratic primary has at least six announced candidates. Luria has secured endorsements from Governor Abigail Spanberger, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Senator Mark Warner. Her campaign raised more than $1.75 million in the first quarter of 2026, outraising Kiggans by more than $700,000, and reported more than $2.3 million in cash on hand. The National Republican Congressional Committee criticized her as an "out-of-touch liberal" and accused her of being a rubber stamp for former President Joe Biden.

Luria served on the congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and presented its findings shortly before leaving Congress. Biden granted her and other committee members pre-emptive pardons during the final moments of his presidency. At the start of his second term, Trump granted clemency to approximately 1,500 people who participated in the Capitol attack. She said it was right to hold Trump and his allies accountable, and that she knew voters might punish her for that work.

Summarizing her pitch to voters, she said she discussed addressing cuts to the federal government, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, and limiting presidential powers used to wage war in Iran, linking those priorities to the concentration of military families in her district. She said she recognized that political support for Israel is "divisive" but said it was vital to balance the appropriate support for Israel's defense and how that ties into U.S. national security.

Virginia voters could adopt new congressional maps on Tuesday that could allow Democrats to win ten of the state's 11 House seats in November. In a campaign video, Kiggans said she voted against the redistricting, calling it a "gerrymandering power grab."