Virginia Democrats pick establishment nominees for 2 US House seats they hope to flip in November

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters on Tuesday picked establishment Democrats — a prosecutor and a former congresswoman — as their nominees to take on Republican incumbents in two congressional districts the party hopes to flip in November as part of a broader fight for control of the U.S. House.

Shannon Taylor, the elected top prosecutor in a suburban Richmond county, will take on longtime GOP incumbent Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District. The coastal 2nd Congressional District, a true battleground with a heavy military presence, will see a rematch between two veterans — former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria and Jen Kiggans, who ousted her in 2022.

Taylor and Luria were backed by the House Democrats’ campaign arm and a wide array of Democratic leaders, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Democratic primaries elsewhere in the U.S. this year have highlighted a divide between progressive challengers and more moderate, establishment-backed rivals, and in some races, outsiders have notched surprising upset wins. But in Virginia, Democratic primary voters have a history of rewarding moderate candidates, a trend that continued with Luria’s and Taylor’s wins Tuesday. Taylor won in a crowded, seven-way primary that included a strong progressive candidate, while Luria defeated three challengers.

Virginia Democrats hope they can flip at least two seats after their aggressive, voter-approved redistricting plan was overturned by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.

More bullish observers, including the governor, argue as many as four districts could flip, including the 5th District, where former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello won the Democratic primary and will face incumbent Rep. John McGuire in November.

“Virginia Democrats are going on offense. We will compete everywhere, defend our ground, flip Republican-held seats, and hold Donald Trump and his allies accountable for higher costs, attacks on our freedoms, and corruption that puts personal interests ahead of the people they serve,” state Sen. Lamont Bagby, chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement.

Jeff Ryer, chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, said voters would look critically at Spanberger’s leadership and instead “elect common-sense conservative leaders who will fight for lower taxes, more freedom, and greater opportunity.”

The primary sets up a rematch in the 2nd District

Virginia is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans, all of whom will be seeking reelection this year.

The coastal 2nd District, with its population center in Virginia Beach, is a must-win for the party. Luria ‘s win sets up what will be a closely watched general election rematch with Kiggans.

Luria flipped the district in 2018 and served for two terms before Kiggans defeated her in 2022. Luria was a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

She said Kiggans “broke her promise” to be independent in Washington. Kiggans previously voted yes on the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” but has gone against him to support clean energy developments in her district.

In a statement after her primary win, Luria said she is “ready to serve and deliver for the people of Hampton Roads who are being left behind by Jen Kiggans and Donald Trump.”

Kiggans on Tuesday defended her record as a “proven leader who brings people together and gets results for our military and families.” She said in a statement that she would be campaigning in the coming months with a focus on “lowering costs, putting more money back in your pocket, standing up for our families, and working across the aisle to deliver real results.”

Democrats are hoping momentum will help them flip the GOP-leaning 1st District

The 1st District, with a population center in the Richmond suburbs, has generally tilted Republican. Taylor won a crowded primary contest, even as many Democratic voters backed a more progressive candidate, Salaam Bhatti.

“I do think that we need more bold people that are going to take a real stand,” said voter Devin Garcia, 30, who cast a ballot Tuesday in suburban Richmond for Bhatti, a public interest lawyer. “The Trump administration isn’t fighting fair, and I think caught the Democrats on the back foot.”

After her victory, Taylor drew a line from her experience as a prosecutor to the way she said she would govern if elected.

“I’ve spent the last 14 years prosecuting violent criminals, fraudsters and anybody who abuses our trust. If they took advantage of our community, I held them accountable. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do when I’m in Congress,” she told a crowd of cheering supporters gathered at a restaurant in the district.

In the primary, Taylor emphasized her record on public safety and promoted an agenda she said would help fight corruption in Washington, including a ban on stock trading and a lifetime federal lobbying ban for members of Congress.

She will go on to face Wittman in the general election.

Wittman said in a statement that he had a proven record of delivering for the district and argued that Taylor experimented with public safety by advocating for progressive criminal justice reforms.

Only two House incumbents faced primary challengers

Elsewhere, two incumbents, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer and McGuire, defeated their opponents.

In central Virginia’s 5th District, Trump-endorsed McGuire, a former Navy SEAL and state lawmaker, beat veteran Melanie Lucero.

He will go on to face Perriello, a former congressman who is seeking the chance at a comeback and won the three-way race for the Democratic nomination. He formerly represented it for one term beginning in 2009. Some Democrats are hopeful about the party’s chances of flipping the 5th District, though it leans solidly Republican.

Beyer won in northern Virginia’s overwhelmingly blue 8th District surrounding Washington and is expected to cruise to reelection in November.

“I am throwing myself into that fight, working to elect Democrats across the country starting right here in Virginia, and doing all we can to restore sanity and decency,” he said in a statement.

Republicans will decide on a long-shot challenger for US Senate

Voters also settled a three-way statewide contest to pick the Republican nominee to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, a well-known former governor who was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and currently serves as the ranking Democrat on the chamber’s Intelligence Committee.

Defeating Warner, who did not have a primary challenger, is expected to be a difficult task. The race is not among those seen as a battleground that will determine control of the Senate.

Bert Mizusawa, a decorated retired Army major general, emerged as the GOP primary winner.

In suburban Richmond, Republican voter Chris Weymouth, 85, voted for Mizusawa because she believed he would put America first, support the Constitution and protect America’s freedoms. She said Democrats have moved so far left she would “never” consider voting for one.

Sarah Rankin, The Associated Press