Former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria (whom you may remember for her pointed questioning of administration witnesses during oversight hearings during Trump 1.0) has thrown her hat back in the ring. She’s running for her old seat in Virginia’s Second House District. The district includes all of the Eastern Shore, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Franklin, and Isle of Wight County, as well as parts of Chesapeake and Southampton County. Norfolk is the biggest naval base in the world and is the heartland of the district. If you’re familiar with this part of Virginia, you know it’s heavily influenced by the presence of the military.
Elaine is a retired Navy commander, which means she brings much-needed perspective in a time of war. She joined the Navy at 17 and spent the next 20 years serving on combatant ships around the world as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer. She deployed six times, leading sailors and conducting operations in the Middle East and Western Pacific on destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers.
Elaine served in Congress during the pivotal period from 2019 to 2023. But her district went red, and she lost to Republican challenger Jennifer Ann Kiggans, a former United States Navy helicopter pilot and geriatric nurse practitioner. Elaine doesn’t believe in quitting, so she’s back.
We turn to her as our guest for Five Questions tonight, so we can talk about what animates her commitment to public service: what it means and how it calls to people in this moment. Elaine is answering the call by running for office, but all of us can answer it in our own way, playing the role we feel best suited for. And as many of us prepare to march tomorrow for No Kings Day, the inspiration is uplifting.
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