Elaine Luria, Democrat on Jan. 6 House Committee, Unseated in Virginia House Race: 'That Work Continues'

Brenton Blanchet
·4 min read
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Representative Elaine Luria, a Democrat from Virginia, speaks during a hearing for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Seven House Democrats and two Republicans today launch what they say will be the fullest investigation yet of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, an inquiry that could drag the issue into next year's midterm election campaign. Photographer: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Bloomberg/Getty

Elaine Luria, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, was unseated in Virginia on Tuesday.

The Democrat, who sits on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, conceded the U.S. House race in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District to Republican State Sen. Jennifer Kiggans.

Luria, 47, was the only endangered Democrat on the committee, the New York Times previously reported. Her opponent, Kiggans, looked to take away her chances at a third term and focused her campaign on the economy, while Luria had targeted Kiggans' opposition to abortion rights.

Luria — who served two decades in the Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander — offered her concession speech around 11 p.m. Tuesday night, telling supporters that she called to congratulate her opponent and that the future of the district is now dependent on Kiggans' success. She also spoke about the future of the committee.

RELATED: Jan. 6 Committee Votes to Subpoena Donald Trump: 'We Need to Hear From Him'

Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) (C), Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) (L) and Rep. Stephanie Murphy listen as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (not pictured) presents evidence during the seventh hearing held by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 12, 2022 in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence related to the January 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol for almost a year, is presenting its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building in an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for Joe Biden.

Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty

"We all know, the signs are clear, the hints are coming day after day that Donald Trump wants to [run] for president in 2024," Luria said. "And the dangers that exist [in] democracy, the things that I've been working on as a member of the [committee], making sure that we preserve our democracy, that out votes continue to count . . . that work continues."

Luria previously emphasized her role on the Jan. 6 committee in her closing television ad, and told Vox that she felt it was ultimately a good decision. "If it's not popular with voters and I don't win reelection, I'll be able to sleep at night because I know I did the right thing . . . in the long run, I think I'm on the right side of it, and the economy will recover," she said earlier this month. "Democracy may not."

RELATED: In New Book, Mike Pence Describes How 'Seeds Were Sown' for Jan. 6 Riots: 'It Was a New Low'

The election marked the first Congressional race since Virginia's 2nd District was redrawn, per WAVY, with the new district being more Republican leaning than it was in 2020 when the majority of voters sided with President Joe Biden.

Kiggans, a a geriatric nurse practitioner, was elected as a Senator for the Virginia General Assembly in 2019 and declared victory Tuesday night in front of a crowd of fans for her next step in politics. Luria had called her opponent an election denier, while the Washington Post reported that Kiggans "has acknowledged that Joe Biden is president but has remained silent on whether she believes he was fairly elected."

The Jan. 6 committee unanimously voted to subpoena Donald Trump for testimony and documents related to the investigation just last month, which members called an "extraordinary action." He was issued the subpoena in late October, and was requested to submit documents by Nov. 4 and appear for a deposition on Nov. 14 by the committee's chair and vice chair, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

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"In short, you were at the center of the first and only effort by any U.S. president to overturn an election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power, ultimately culminating in a bloody attack on our own Capitol and on congress itself," they wrote in a letter. "The evidence demonstrates that you knew this activity was illegal and unconstitutional, and also knew that your assertions were fraud and false. But, to be clear, even if you now claim that you actually believed your own false election claims, there is not a defense; your subjective belief could not render this conduct justified, excusable, or legal."

In the subpoena, the Jan. 6 committee is asking for the former president's communications from the day of the riot, communications from Nov. 3, 2020 to Jan. 6, 2021 about plans to ask Congress, the Justice Department, then-Vice President Mike Pence, and others about overturning the election, and communications with Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani and other personal associates. They're also seeking any communications he had about the committee, as well as documents about the Proud Boys and other militia groups.