Democrats ramp up outreach in Va.’s 1st, 2nd and 5th Districts 2 weeks before Election Day

In the final stretch before the pivotal midterm elections on Nov. 3, Democrats at the local, state and national level are ramping up their engagement with voters in Virginia’s 1st, 2nd and 5th Congressional Districts and eyeing potential partisan flips in the competitive contests.

At a rally with the Democratic candidates in the three districts on Monday, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said that the road to shifting the U.S. House of Representatives from red to blue runs through Virginia.

“We’ve got enough rubber stamps for Donald Trump in Washington,” Buttigieg said. “It’s time for real leaders who are going to remember who they’re working for. That is the difference between the current Republican one-party control in Washington and a Democratic majority in the House,” Buttigieg said.

With US House control hanging in the balance, Wittman faces Taylor in contentious VA-01 race

Henrico’s chief prosecutor Shannon Taylor is hoping to oust longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R- Westmoreland. The 1st District —  which stretches downward from Westmoreland and wraps around Richmond’s suburbs — has voted reliably Republican in recent years but pundits have marked it as a tossup this year. 

Elaine Luria, who used to represent the Hampton Roads-anchored 2nd, is facing a rematch against U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach. The Navy veterans have each held the swingy seat for two terms, with Kiggans first ousting Luria in 2022.

Luria and Kiggans rematch in Va.’s 2nd Congressional District among most-watched races in nation

In the 5th, a GOP stronghold which sprawls from just north of Charlottesville down to the North Carolina border, former congressman Tom Perriello aims to replace U.S. Rep. John McGuire, R-Goochland. 

Perriello is the lone Democrat to have represented the 5th in the past two decades and analysts pinpoint the contest as competitive this year. 

At Monday’s event, Perriello noted the growing healthcare disparities within the district, as rural patients drive further for treatment and various hospitals in Virginia’s South Side lack obstetrics care for expecting parents. 

“We have families struggling across this district who are hopeful for the first time in years,” Perriello said. “(They’re) hopeful that they will have champions who will put up with the process of politics in order to do public service.” 

During his one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Perriello cast a decisive vote as Democrats advanced the Affordable Care Act, an insurance marketplace for people who’d otherwise have no healthcare options.

Perriello seeks another 5th District upset as McGuire leans on Trump

Perriello lost re-election in 2010 after voting for former President Barack Obama’s flagship policy.

Buttigieg reiterated Perriello’s support for it at the rally, saying the ACA “saved countless lives and is deservedly one of the winning issues for Democrats.” 

He joined the trio of candidates in lambasting President Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress, whom they blamed for rising gas, grocery and healthcare prices amid Trump’s war with Iran. 

Wittman, Kiggans and McGuire have all voted in favor of H.R. 1, a reconciliation bill that puts 300,000 Virginians at risk of losing Medicaid. Virginia hospitals have also trimmed services in the past year in advance of changes to hospital funding mechanisms included in the bill, several citing H.R.1 as a factor. Thirteen rural hospitals have been identified as at risk of potential closure.

Though Wittman was one of 17 Republicans to back extending now-expired ACA subsidies, Taylor took aim at him for siding with his party and Trump on many issues. 

“I’ve spent my career building cases, and I know what it takes to win one: evidence and persistence,” Taylor told the crowd of a few hundred at the Henrico Theatre. “We’ve got nearly 20 years of evidence against Rob Whitman, and now all we need is you.” 

With the 2nd district having the highest concentration of military in the state, Luria criticized Kiggans for her expressed support of the Iran war. 

Congress has not formally approved the conflict that Trump launched in February, a fact the Democrats pressed Monday and in recent months on the campaign trail.

After noting higher gas prices, which Kiggans has admitted are a consequence of the conflict, Luria said “in Hampton Roads, it’s even more personal” because the fight also means constituents there are deploying. 

“We need a leader in Hampton Roads again who is going to stand up for our military, stand up for our veterans, and put a check on this administration,” Luria said. 

In a statement ahead of the rally, RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall emphasized Buttigieg’s failed 2020 presidential campaign and the fact that he went on to work for former President Joe Biden.

With no reference to the Perriello and McGuire matchup, she called Taylor and Luria “desperate” for campaigning alongside a “Biden hack” and criticized the candidates for their records in office.  

With roughly 15 days to go before Election Day, Republican and Democratic candidates statewide are making their final appeals to voters. Early voting is underway and ends Oct. 31. Read The Mercury’s voter guide to learn more about the candidates and races.