There are four candidates running to represent Virginia’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrat Elaine Luria is hoping to get her old seat back — she previously served in Congress beginning in 2019 but lost to Republican incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans in the 2022 election. Matt Baker and Bishop Staten are running as independents.
In-person early voting begins Sept. 18 and runs through Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Here is how the candidates answered questions asked by The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
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Matt Baker
Age: 61
Employment: Senior Vice President for Grid Modernization, Typhoon HIL
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Aerospace Eng, U.S. Naval Academy; Master’s degree, Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland ; MBA, Old Dominion
Military service: Marine Corps
Website: mattbakerindependent.com
What policies would you promote to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and flooding?
Hampton Roads floods on sunny days — rising seas threaten this whole region. Virginia Beach isn’t waiting on Washington: voters approved a $567.5 million flood protection bond in 2021, and this July construction begins on the Windsor Woods Pump Station, a $127 million facility moving 432,000 gallons per minute, using tide gates and flood barriers to hold back rising water. Local taxpayers are funding the whole thing themselves, with no federal cost-share. That’s backwards: a coast that also protects the world’s largest naval base is a national interest, not just a local tax bill. As your congressman, I’d fight for federal Army Corps partnership dollars to match what this city has already put on the line — real engineering, real numbers, not talking points. I’ve spent a career building resilient infrastructure. I know the difference between engineering and politics.
Would you support moratoriums on new data center projects, legislation to demand tech companies pay their share of energy costs, utility rate reform or other consumer protections for customers whose bills are affected by data centers? Why or why not?
Yes, yes, and yes. Why? The core problem is poor engineering, not technology itself. Data centers can be built quiet, water-efficient with closed-loop cooling, and energy self-sufficient with on-site storage and renewables — the technology exists today. I’d support: 1) a moratorium on new projects until they meet these standards; 2) legislation requiring tech companies to pay the full cost of power and grid upgrades they demand instead of shifting it to your bill; and 3) utility rate reform putting data centers in their own rate class so residential customers stop subsidizing server farms. This is urgent: the EPA proposed, back on July 7, eliminating public hearing requirements for the air permits covering data center generators! Washington is moving toward less accountability, not more. Get the engineering and regulation right first, or we get imperiled, or progress grinds to a halt.
How would you improve affordability for Virginians?
Costs are rising faster than paychecks — housing, health care, groceries, utilities, and now your power bill as data centers strain the grid. We don’t need gimmicks like Freedom Fuel gas stations and 300,000 metric tons of tariff-exempt foreign beef — at best these buy a headline for a few weeks while small businesses and ranchers eat the real cost. We also don’t need commercials touting a $3,617 tax cut that’s so skewed toward the top 20% of earners it means little to a middle-income family. I’d end that pattern on data centers too: require they pay their own power costs instead of spreading it across every ratepayer’s bill. Affordability is a lot of things, but should not be treated like a shell game, that’s what has put us $40 trillion in debt today. I’ll approach this like an engineer: real numbers, and equal parts fighting higher costs and fighting for higher wages.
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Jen Kiggans
Age: 55
Employment: U.S. Congresswoman for Virginia’s Second Congressional District
Education: Bachelor of arts degree, international relations, Boston University; bachelor’s of science degree, nursing, Old Dominion University; master’s degree, nursing, Vanderbilt University
Military service: Navy
Previous elected office: U.S. House of Representatives, 2023-present; Virginia’s 7th Senate District, 2020-2023.
Website: jenforcongress.com
What policies would you promote to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and flooding?
Virginia Beach is my home, and I’ve seen firsthand what flooding and coastal erosion can mean for our neighborhoods, roads, beaches, and local businesses. That’s why protecting Coastal Virginia has been a priority for me in Congress. My bipartisan BEACH Act was signed into law to protect storm-prone beaches and wetlands that provide natural barriers against flooding. I’ve secured $1 million for the Bow Creek Stormwater Park project in Virginia Beach and fought for federal investments in beach nourishment, flood control, and storm damage reduction. I’m also pushing the Army Corps to address serious erosion on the Eastern Shore and ensure our military installations are included in regional flood planning. I’ll continue working with local leaders to protect our homes, businesses, military installations, and the communities we love.
Would you support moratoriums on new data center projects, legislation to demand tech companies pay their share of energy costs, utility rate reform or other consumer protections for customers whose bills are affected by data centers? Why or why not?
I understand the concerns Virginians have about the impact data centers can have on electricity costs, water, noise and surrounding communities. Those concerns are legitimate and shouldn’t be dismissed. I believe local communities and individual states should have a meaningful voice in where these facilities are built and how their impacts are addressed. At the federal level, we should seek solutions that protect consumers, strengthen our energy grid, and ensure growth doesn’t come at an unfair cost to Virginia families. We need more energy and more forms of energy. In Congress I have led on the issue of Clean Energy Tax Credits to incentivize clean energy production and have advocated for an “All of the Above” energy approach. We should be able to lead the world in the innovation that comes with data centers while protecting the communities where that innovation takes place.
How would you improve affordability for Virginians?
As a mom of four, I know firsthand how rising prices squeeze a family budget. It’s also the issue I hear about most across our community. That’s why making life more affordable has been my number one priority. I passed the biggest tax cut in American history for working families, which the nonpartisan Tax Foundation says will save Virginia families about $3,600 a year in taxes, while cutting taxes on Social Security, tips, and overtime. I’ve also supported bipartisan legislation to make it easier to build homes, increase housing supply, and make homeownership more affordable, while fighting to improve military housing and lower costs for servicemembers and their families. I’ve taken on drug companies and their middlemen to lower prescription drug prices for seniors and families. My focus has been lowering the cost of living and helping Virginians keep more of what they earn.
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Elaine Luria
Age: 51
Employment: U.S Navy, retired ;
Education: Bachelor’s degree, in Physics and History, U.S. Naval Academy; Master’s degree in Engineering Management, Old Dominion University
Military service: Navy
Previous elected office: U.S. Representative for 2nd Congressional District, 2019-2023.
Website: elaineforcongress.com
What policies would you promote to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and flooding?
Rising sea levels and flooding in Hampton Roads are both a national security and economic issue, threatening military readiness, damaging infrastructure, and hurting our local economy and small businesses. Managing flooding while mitigating its impacts will require a multi-pronged solution, and it’s one I championed while in office before. First, we need to increase federal investment in coastal flood-control infrastructure to keep our roads clear, communities dry, and ensure businesses have the confidence to build here in Hampton Roads. Second, we need to upgrade our dry docks and shipyard facilities so rising seas don’t threaten American military power abroad. Finally, we need to continue to invest in clean energy sources, like the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, to blunt the risks of climate change on our community and reduce our liability to flooding over the long term.
Would you support moratoriums on new data center projects, legislation to demand tech companies pay their share of energy costs, utility rate reform or other consumer protections for customers whose bills are affected by data centers? Why or why not?
The influx of data centers across our Commonwealth present a unique challenge. Virginians are understandably concerned that data centers will raise already skyrocketing energy costs and disrupt their community. At the same time, the U.S. has a vested national security interest in ensuring we have the requisite facilities to compete technologically with China. My proposal to ensure we solve both of these problems simultaneously would mandate that any data center being built has support from the local community with absolutely no exceptions, does not raise electricity costs by one cent on any other rate payer; and has a closed-loop water system to prevent massive water use that negatively impacts the surrounding community. That way we protect consumers and communities from corporations while giving our country the advantage it needs to compete with China on this critical technology.
How would you improve affordability for Virginians?
In my travels across the district, from Courtland to Chincoteague, I hear that everything is more expensive. From gas and groceries to healthcare and housing, Virginians can’t afford to get ahead because they can barely afford to get by. Fixing this crisis begins with ending the policies of Jen Kiggans and Donald Trump that created it. That means ending Trump’s war in Iran, so we can bring gas prices down and make sure that the hundreds of billions of dollars we’re spending on another foreign war can be spent here at home. It means restoring funding for Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies so that working and middle class Virginians have access to affordable health insurance. And it means repealing Trump’s tariffs that have cost American families an additional $1,700 per year. Addressing this crisis however also requires Democrats to move beyond just undoing Republican actions and implementing our own solutions to cut health care costs, make it easier for Americans to start and grow a small business by cutting unnecessary red tape, and invest in education.
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Bishop Staten
Age: 41
Employment: PA announcer for Kings Fork Boys and Girls Basketball; full time associate, Amazon
Education: High school diploma or GED; some college or professional certification
Website: Facebook.com/BishopStaten
What policies would you promote to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and flooding?
In order to manage the impacts from sea level rise, I feel we need to explore different ways to cope with rising seas. Mitigation strategies work by reducing the root cause of the problem. In this case, that means reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation strategies work by modifying existing things to lessen impacts from a problem. Examples of these include building resilient homes and infrastructure, restoring natural barriers, and enhancing emergency preparedness, we can deliver results to the district by 1. Investing in guaranteed resilient infrastructure; 2. Have stronger zoning and building codes; 3. Protect and restore natural coastal defenses. I will deliver for the entire Hampton Roads and put this concern to the forefront.
Would you support moratoriums on new data center projects, legislation to demand tech companies pay their share of energy costs, utility rate reform or other consumer protections for customers whose bills are affected by data centers? Why or why not?
Can I be real? Data centers are just bad for this district all at once. The people are fed up. I’m a fighter against this burden and won’t be satisfied till they all gone, and of course while they cast their lot here, make them pay, to make them move. I’m supporting every cause against data centers in our area. Enough is enough. The people said send the message. O-U-T. Non negotiable.
How would you improve affordability for Virginians?
We are taking the 757 back, I’m for healthcare, pay raises,tax exemptions, also I will bring sport entertainment revenue to propel us for centuries to come. Thee first thing I’m going to do when elected, is celebrate, then kick these data centers and Flock cameras the hell out of my district. The people are going to be free. I’m sick of it. I don’t mind us being different here in Hampton Roads . My seniors will thrive , I love you all, you have paved the way. My veterans and their spouses, and my farmers will not be neglected any longer. I’m finishing this infrastructure and e-bike lanes are coming. I’m also releasing the checks and back bonus pay due to all working citizens of this district, all the way from COVID to this illegal inflation that has stripped the working/lower class citizens of everything.
