While Democrats this election cycle have shied away from putting former President Donald Trump and threats to democracy at the center of their campaigns, U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria is breaking the mold with an ad reminiscent more of 2020 politicking than 2022.
The Democrat representing Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District is out with a new ad entitled “Your Candidate” that takes Trump politics head on.
“Politics used to be about serving,” a female narrator begins in the digital spot with images of past presidents such as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama together in harmony.
It them pivots to footage of Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Today it’s about winning at all costs,” the narrator continues.
The narration pauses as clips show Republicans criticizing fake news, speaking petulantly and denying the outcome of the 2020 election, including footage of her Republican opponent, Jen Kiggans, in an interview where she deflected questions about the 2020 election outcome.
“That’s not me,” Luria takes over in the ad. “If standing up for what’s right means losing an election, so be it.”
“If you’re looking for someone who will just say anything to win, I’m not your candidate. If you support insurrectionists, or call our military weak, I’m not your candidate. If you attack the FBI and defend Donald Trump, I’m not your candidate. And if you believe that the 2020 election was stolen, I’m definitely not your candidate. But if you believe that our democracy and constitution are worth fighting for and you want a Congresswoman who will always stand up for what’s right, then I’m Elaine Luria. I approved this message, and I am your candidate.”
Luria is locked in a tight race against Kiggans, with the latest poll in late October showing the two tied at 45% support each.
Both women are Navy veterans — Kiggans a former helicopter pilot and Luria a retired naval commander. Luria is running as a moderate in the left-leaning district.
Democrats have a more than 60,000 voter advantage in the southeaster Virginia district, with 241,409 registered Democrats to 180,016 GOP voters, according to the most recent L2 voter data. Another more than 108,000 voters are non-partisan.
Luria, vulnerable in the first Midterm election since President Barack Obama that a Democrat has occupied the White House, has been hitting Kiggans an an election denier.
A recent ad spotlighted footage of Kiggans refusing to answer whether she believed Biden was the rightful winner of the 2020 Presidential election.
The ad shows an interview with Kiggans where she was specifically asked if Biden won the election. The video shows Kiggans saying merely “a lot of extreme words” while uncomfortably chuckling and further deflecting from the question, before ending the interview.
Previous polls in the race, taken in mid-April, gave Luria a 5 percentage point advantage.
