Virginia midterm primaries underway to select nominees for U.S. House, Senate races

Virginia voters are participating in midterm primaries on Tuesday to determine the nominees for U.S. Senate and U.S. House seats. The elections are particularly significant as they occur in competitive swing districts that may prove decisive in determining control of the narrowly divided U.S. House in November.

The congressional primaries will proceed using the commonwealth's current district boundaries. An attempt to implement a new, more Democratic-friendly map in April was ultimately invalidated by Virginia's highest court less than three weeks later. This effort to redraw maps followed a broader trend in Republican-controlled states like Texas and Missouri, where similar redistricting initiatives aimed to enhance the party's prospects of maintaining its fragile U.S. House majority.

In the 2nd Congressional District, a rematch between Republican U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans and Democrat Elaine Luria, whom Kiggans unseated in 2022, is a strong possibility. Luria, a former Navy commander and member of the House Select Jan. 6 Committee, leads the Democratic field in fundraising. Kiggans, also a former Naval officer, faces no opposition in the Republican primary.

Other key races include a seven-Democrat primary in the 1st Congressional District aiming to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, and a three-way Republican primary in the 7th Congressional District to challenge freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, who is unopposed. In the 5th Congressional District, former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello is seeking a comeback in a three-way Democratic primary. At the statewide level, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is unopposed for his fourth term, with Republicans Kim Farington, Bert Mizusawa, and David Williams vying to challenge him in November.