Luria, Kiggans in dead heat in key Virginia House race

Rep. Elaine Luria (D) and state Sen. Jen Kiggans (R) are tied in the race for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, according to a new poll. 

The poll from Christopher Newport University’s Watson Center for Civic Leadership found Luria and Kiggans each with 45 percent support, while 8 percent are undecided. 

The race could be key to Republicans’ efforts to regain the majority in the House for the first time in four years. The GOP only needs a net gain of a few seats to win the majority. 

The poll found a plurality of likely voters, 39 percent, listed the economy as the most important issue in the race. Abortion came in second, at 17 percent, while threats to democracy were third, at 14 percent. 

Pollsters said in an analysis of the results that Democrats are more likely to have voted early in the 2nd District than Republicans, consistent with national trends. Luria leads by a wide margin among the 12 percent of respondents who have voted early, 56 percent to 29 percent. 

Members of both parties appear to have significant interest in the midterm elections, with more than 90 percent of each saying they are paying a lot or some attention to this year’s races. But 76 percent of Republicans said they are paying a lot of attention, while only 60 percent of Democrats said the same. 

Two-thirds of respondents said inflation is a major factor in their choice of who to vote for, while 45 percent said President Biden is not much of a factor in their vote. 

Luria has received increased attention as a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. 

The poll was conducted from Oct. 12 to 18 among 820 likely voters. The margin of error was 3.9 points. 

FiveThirtyEight projects the GOP to regain control of the House but considers the race for Virginia’s 2nd District a toss-up.