This story was reported by WHRO News.
This November, voters in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District will decide between two candidates whose biographies, on paper, sound remarkably similar.
Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans and Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal are both Navy veterans who have made military issues central to their campaigns. Both are also moms from Virginia Beach and present themselves as advocates for families.
They've also had success in business before turning to politics — Cotter Smasal as a small business owner and Kiggans as a nurse practitioner in a private practice.
They're running in a notorious swing district that encompasses urban, suburban and rural areas in a cover Isle of Wight County to Suffolk, part of Chesapeake, all of Virginia Beach and up the Eastern Shore. Independent Robert Reid is also running.
It’s a district that’s seen as a bellwether for national politics. Neither party has held the majority in the U.S. House without also holding Virginia’s 2nd district seat since 2001.
The key demographic that has made a difference in the district — and turned it blue in 2020 for Joe Biden then propelled Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin into office the next year — is women, particularly suburban white women.
Leslie Caughell, a Virginia Wesleyan University political science professor, said the candidates’ backgrounds are indicative of who the parties are trying to relate to — and who might control the district's fate.
“People who don't know much about politics and vote in elections are often getting their information close to the time they're casting their vote,” Caughell said. “And things that people who are obsessed with politics wouldn't think of mattering, matter, like their background story.”
As it’s become more evident that women in the suburbs are the key to some major elections, the two major parties have selected candidates, in part, to appeal to them. Organizations have also formed to court them directly.
Red Wine and Blue is a left-of-center political group formed in 2019 to mobilize suburban women in swing states.
Penny Blue is the group’s Virginia program director. She said the two candidates’ similar biographies make it even more important to get the word out about their policies.
“It's about real life experiences,” she said. “So, you can have similar backgrounds, whether you are male, female, in the military, etcetera. But you still have different experiences in your life, and those are some of the things that shape your values and your vision.”
Kiggans boosts her bipartisan rating and believes in bringing civility to politics. She said her campaign centers around security — of the economy, the nation and its border.
Cotter Smasal distinguishes herself from her opponent, saying Kiggans aligns with Republicans' more extreme values. She presents herself as a strong proponent of reproductive rights and voting rights.
According to a Christopher Newport University poll released earlier this month, Kiggans leads Cotter Smasal by five points in the district. Her lead is bolstered by independent voters, men and white voters.
Cotter Smasal is favored by women, Black voters and college educated voters.
Top issues for voters are inflation and the economy, immigration, threats to democracy and abortion.
Kiggans on the issues
Kiggans, 53, served as a helicopter pilot in the Navy before becoming a nurse practitioner. She was elected to the state Senate in 2019 and served three terms before winning the U.S. House seat in 2022.
“My priorities revolve around security,” Kiggans said during a recent interview.
People don’t have security in the economy right now, Kiggans said, citing inflation in the four years since the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she prioritizes national security and supporting service members through her work on the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
Border security is also one of her top concerns.
“We’re seeing that every state is now a border state,” she said, adding that border issues, like drug trafficking, “reach even Virginia.”
Kiggans said the back-and-forth party representation in the U.S. House for the 2nd District has been “challenging.”
“We need more seniority in our congressional representation. I think it hurts things like our military installations and our bases when we don’t have a congressional representative who understands how to get things done in a bipartisan atmosphere and who can direct federal dollars and investment back to our bases.”
On abortion, Kiggans released a statement in 2022 supporting the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She reaffirmed her belief in 2024 that abortion should not be federally protected.
“As a mom, as a woman, as a healthcare provider, I feel like it’s an issue that we should be discussing with some grace,” Kiggans said.
Kiggans touted her ranking as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and said she focuses on common sense leadership that appeals to her district.
“People watch the work we’ve done over the past two years, they know what kind of leader I am,” Kiggans said. “I think people are happy with our leadership.”
As of June 30, Kiggans has raised $4.2 million for her campaign, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Cotter Smasal on the issues
Cotter Smasal, 46, served as a surface warfare officer in the Navy before becoming a small business owner. She is the executive director of a nonprofit that honors military women, an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University and a citizen representative on the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
“I am running to protect reproductive rights, I am running to protect voting rights, and ultimately, I’m running to protect our democracy,” Cotter Smasal said.
She highlighted access to abortion as a key issue, and said women should have the right to control their body, regardless of where they live or where the military stations them.
She highlighted Kiggans’ 2023 vote to repeal a Pentagon policy that reimburses travel costs for military personnel who must go out of state for an abortion or related care.
“We have this wonderful tradition of military service in this district with over 60,000 veterans," Cotter Smasal said. "We have specifically a naval tradition of service here, and people are patriotic, and we care about protecting our democracy. ... That’s what’s motivating voters, and that’s why I feel confident we’re going to win.”
She said she's focused on protecting veterans’ benefits and public education funding, and also highlighted the economy: “We need to make sure that we have serious people working in D.C. who are passing budgets on time, who are not threatening to shut down the government because our local economy is so dependent on federal spending.”
This is not Cotter Smasal’s first campaign. In 2019, she challenged longtime state Sen. Bill DeSteph and lost by about 2,400 votes. Gun violence prevention was a central issue in her 2019 run.
As of June 30, Cotter Smasal has raised nearly $1.3 million.
Caughell, the Wesleyan political scientist, said it’s hard to forecast the election's outcome because of the broader political climate.
“When abortions have been on the ballot, Democrats have overperformed. And that's especially interesting, because when Trump has been on the ballot, physically, Republicans have tended to overperform expectations,” Caughell said.
While 2nd District voters trust Kiggans more to handle military and veterans’ issues, they trust Cotter Smasal more to handle reproductive rights, according to the Christopher Newport University poll.
Kamala Harris has an even favorability rating of 47% in the district, while Donald Trump has a -4 rating — 45% are in favor while 49% are not.
“I'll be curious to see with those two competing realities … if those boosts cancel each other out,” Caughell said.
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