Brandishing their national security backgrounds, moderate viewpoints, and focus on kitchen table matters, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) have secured big electoral wins since their first days in the House together.
Former Rep. Elaine Luria, with momentum from the successes of her previous House squad, expressed hope for an electoral victory in 2026, as she seeks to take back her House seat in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Luria, Spanberger, Sherrill, Slotkin, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) were each part of a group of centrist Democratic women with national security backgrounds elected to the House in 2018. Pundits called them the “badasses,” the “mod squad,” and the other “squad.”
“We found that the strength in numbers. Working together to show that the face of the Democratic Party includes people like us: people with national security, intelligence backgrounds; people who served in uniform; people who view this as a way to continue their service to the country in a new capacity was very powerful,” Luria told the Washington Examiner.
Luria, a former Naval officer, served two terms in the House, where she was vice chairwoman of the House Armed Services Committee and championed a bolstered U.S. military. Despite representing a competitive swing district, she also challenged President Donald Trump by serving on the House committee to investigate Jan. 6 and voted to impeach Trump twice in his first term.
In the 2022 midterm elections, during former President Joe Biden’s administration, Luria lost her seat to Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), a former Navy helicopter pilot, by just over 3 percentage points. Her loss followed Virginia’s 2021 redistricting, in which a map drawn by the state Supreme Court ushered in more red counties to Virginia’s 2nd District
Under the same electoral map, and with a drive to return to representing the Tidewater district, Luria said she was emboldened by conversations with voters about affordability matters and a desire to complete the job she started in Congress.
“Everywhere I go, I have the same conversations with people about affordability and the cost of living and how hard they’re working. It’s like, ‘my family, we’re doing everything right, but we’re really struggling to get by,’” Luria said. “I just feel like people need representatives in Washington who are really trying to look out for them.”
Luria said she sees the economic effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs and Medicaid cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as top of mind for voters, two affordability talking points Spanberger also highlighted in her Virginia gubernatorial race.
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Kiggans, who is running for reelection in 2026, argued that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act does not cut Medicaid for Americans and her constituents, saying it only roots out waste and fraud.
“Let me set the record straight: This legislation does not cut Medicaid for those who truly need it,” Kiggans wrote. “Instead, it strengthens the program for low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities while rooting out waste and holding bad actors accountable.”
Kiggans has also focused on an affordability message in her reelection campaign, pointing to the GOP’s work to reduce Biden-era inflation, the low gas prices under the Trump administration, and her efforts in leading the bipartisan Child Care Access and Affordability Act in the House.
“We can’t forget that under President Biden, Americans were hit with the highest inflation in 40 years — climbing to 9.1% at its highest and squeezing families from every angle,” Kiggans wrote on social media over Thanksgiving. “With Republicans back in charge, we’re working hard to bring inflation down and restore the affordability Virginians deserve. I’m committed to delivering commonsense leadership that puts working families first.”
In Spanberger’s double-digit gubernatorial win in November 2025, she secured Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District by over 7 points. Kiggans won her bid for reelection in 2024 by 3.8 percentage points, defeating Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal after Luria forwent a 2024 bid.
Luria told the Washington Examiner that she thinks several of Spanberger’s campaign messaging points, including her words on affordability and the Department of Government Efficiency cuts, resonated with voters in the 2nd District.
“There’s just a lot of things that probably disproportionately impact people in this district,” she said.
With over 30,000 federal workers, the district sits near the top of the list of districts with the most federal employees. Just over 8% of the district’s workforce are federal workers, according to an Associated Press report based on a Congressional Research Service analysis.
The district also has a significant military and veteran population, home to Naval Air Station Oceana and nearby Naval Station Norfolk. Luria pointed to the fact that the Trump administration deployed the Norfolk-based Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group as part of the military buildup in the Caribbean that is putting pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
“That’s about 15,000 sailors from here, from our community, who are out there at sea being asked to carry out this mission,” Luria said. “While their families and spouses and children are at home watching from afar, and many are aghast at what they find to be something that is being done on dubious, at best, legal grounds.”
With Spanberger’s gubernatorial win in Virginia and within the 2nd District, Sherrill’s win in New Jersey, and Slotkin’s 2024 Senate win, Luria sees hope from the successes of her former House squad colleagues.
“I’m super proud of my friends,” she said. “Both Elissa getting elected to the Senate, and then Abigail and Mikie, prospectively, being elected governor. And Chrissy, sticking it out, doing a lot of good work in the Houses, so I hope to go back and join her.”
Spanberger endorsed Luria in December 2025, calling her a “dedicated public servant.”
If she makes it through the Democratic primary, it could tee up a political rematch between Luria and Kiggans in November. Kiggans, like Luria, also flaunts a high-ranking bipartisan record, showing a willingness to work across the aisle while representing a purple district. The district is considered an even toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report’s 2026 House race ratings.
Virginia state Democrats are also eyeing a constitutional amendment that could redistrict the commonwealth by the 2026 elections as part of the nationwide redistricting battle, sparking debate between the state’s Democrats and Republicans.
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However, Luria said even if the redistricting push happens, it won’t “impact how I run my campaign, how I talk to voters, or the things that I prioritize for our community at large.”
“I came into this race knowing that this district is competitive and I can win this district and can flip it under the lines that are drawn today,” she said. “If they change over the course of time between now and November, we will adjust to that.”