Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are putting their weight behind the campaigns of a pair of former Members of Congress in two 2026 Democratic Party congressional primaries.
The state’s two Democratic U.S. senators said on Friday that they are endorsing Elaine Luria in the Second District and Tom Perriello in the Fifth District.
Luria served two terms in Congress, from 2019-2023, and also served on the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
She lost her bid for a third term in 2022 to Republican Jen Kiggans, who will be seeking a third term in the 2026 cycle.
To say that Kiggans is vulnerable is understating things – she beat Luria in 2022 by 3.45 points, and held the seat in 2024 in a contest with Missy Cotter Smasal by 3.8 points.
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Between that, and the mid-decade redistricting that Virginia Democrats are planning that will make the Second a strong-Dem district, yeah.
“Every day that Pete Hegseth remains Secretary of Defense, the United States is less safe,” Warner said. “We need folks in Congress who know how to conduct oversight and are willing to hold this administration accountable. Elaine Luria is just that person. I have served with Elaine in the past and have seen her commitment to a strong, apolitical military. I know she will deliver for Hampton Roads.”
“Our economy and national security depend on there being a Congress willing to stand against President Trump’s ridiculous tariffs, corrupt deals that sell out America’s interests, and colossal mistakes that put our servicemembers at risk. Throughout her two-decade Navy career and time in elected office, Elaine Luria has demonstrated that she has the experience to do that, and will work to lower costs and deliver for Hampton Roads. That’s why I’m proud to endorse her to represent Virginia’s Second Congressional District,” Kaine said.
Luria is one of nine candidates in a crowded primary field in the Second District, but I imagine that her entry into the field will eventually take up the oxygen there.
ICYMI
The mid-decade redistricting that is reshaping the political landscape will also impact the 2026 cycle in the Fifth District, which has been represented by a Republican for all but a single two-year term in this century – that single two-year term was Perriello, who upset Republican incumbent Virgil Goode in 2008.
Perriello was defeated in 2010 after casting a vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act, which passed with a bare seven-vote majority.
Credit to Perriello there for doing the right thing against the interests of his political future.
“I have worked closely with Tom Perriello – first during his time in Congress and more recently in his capacity as Special Envoy to Sudan. I’ve long admired Tom’s willingness to take on hard problems, from bringing good paying jobs and affordable broadband to Southside to bringing humanitarian relief to Sudan,” Warner said. “Tom is a fighter for working people and knows what it will take to address the affordability crisis facing Virginians. I am proud to support his campaign.”
“I’m proud to endorse Tom Perriello because he is the kind of leader we need to fight for Virginians whose wallets and safety are under unprecedented attack from this White House. The Commonwealth and country are already better for his public service career, and he’s ready to hit the ground running to lower costs, protect our communities, and put Virginians first,” Kaine said.
Two of the three candidates who had begun campaigns for the Democratic nomination in the Fifth – Adele Stichel and Paul Riley – dropped out of the race after Perriello launched his campaign earlier this week.
Mike Pruitt, a member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, is soldiering on.
“We’re different people,” Pruitt told NBC29 this week. “I think we also have a different message, and a different theory of the case, and I frankly think voters will find that there’s a lot of policy distinctions that really matter.”
The Fifth District seat is currently held by a MAGA Republican, John McGuire, who was elected in 2024 after getting the backing of Donald Trump in the June primary with the incumbent, Bob Good.
Good, you may remember, ran afoul of Team Trump because he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in the 2024 cycle.
It’s not like Bob Good is anything other than a MAGA Republican; it’s almost like, the worst thing you can do on that side is be a Trump sycophant.
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Which is why you don’t ever hear much from Ben Cline, the incumbent in the Sixth District, which is being redrawn into being a leans-Dem district.
Cline might want to rethink the whole 100 percent MAGA thing, if he wants to have a political career going forward.
Earlier this week, Kaine also offered his endorsement for Beth Macy, a Roanoke-based journalist and author, in the Sixth.
Macy is one of three candidates in the Sixth – alongside former FEMA administrator Pete Barlow and Ken Mitchell, a military veteran who was the 2024 Democratic nominee.
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Chris Graham
