46 Days to Go: Missy Cotter Smasal

Sep 20, 2024

Who: Missy Cotter Smasal

Where: VA-02 (the southeasternmost corner of the state including the Eastern Shore, Virginia Beach and Suffolk)

Why: Missy Cotter Smasal is a strong challenger against a moderate first-term incumbent, Jen Kiggans, in an unpredictable district that has changed party hands five times since 2000.

In 2018, former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria was elected to this seat even though Trump had carried the district by five points two years earlier. She was re-elected in 2020 and President Biden then won the district by two points, but Luria, who volunteered to serve on the bipartisan January 6 Select Committee, lost narrowly to Kiggans in 2022.

Both Smasal and Kiggans are Navy veterans. Smasal is a former small business owner and currently serves on the Chesapeake Bay Commission. Abortion is perhaps the issue with the most daylight between them; Kiggans supported the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade and in both 2023 and 2024 voted to restrict servicewomen’s access to abortion services. Though not technically an election denier, Kiggans has avoided acknowledging Biden as the legitimate president.

VA-02 is one of 30 districts across the country targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for additional organizational and fundraising support in order to flip it back (again) from red to blue.

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