Southampton County
Not in Southampton County? Click here to choose your customized guide.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th
The Virginia Progressive Voters Guide compiles the information that allows you to make informed decisions about the races on your ballot, based on your values. All research in this guide was conducted in July and August of 2022. Please share this guide with your friends and family.
Congress
2nd Congressional District
Virginia’s 2nd district includes 6 counties and parts of Southampton county and Chesapeake City. With a population of 780,161, this district leans Republican.
This election will be held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Congresswoman Elaine Luria (D), a US Navy veteran who was first elected in 2018, faces State Senator Jen Kiggans (R), a former geriatric nurse practitioner and retired US Navy veteran. Kiggans has served in the Virginia State Senate since 2020.
Democratic incumbent Representative Elaine Luria has served Virginia’s Second District since 2019. She is a 20-year Navy veteran who served as a Surface Warfare Officer and nuclear engineer. She was one of the first women to attend the Naval Nuclear Power School. In 2013, she started a family business, Mermaid Factory, which created jobs and added over $250,000 to Hampton Roads’ economy. She currently serves on the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Luria is a staunch advocate for clean air and water, as well as access to natural environments. She introduced the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation for $85 million to fund clean up of the Chesapeake Bay. Additionally, she spoke out against offshore drilling, and in 2020, cosponsored the Great American Outdoors Act. Earlier this year, she introduced legislation that would authorize a study to designate Coastal Virginia as a National Heritage Area.
Access to quality and affordable healthcare is a top priority for Luria. She supports strengthening the Affordable Care Act and works to lower prescription drug prices. In early 2022, Luria advanced legislation supporting health care access to veterans with certain illnesses as a result of burn pits. She also pushed TRICARE to increase access to free COVID tests to service members and military families. Luria criticized the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, as well as Governor Youngkin’s plan to change abortion laws in Virginia.
Luria is a gun safety advocate who believes in commonsense measures to keep people safe from gun violence. She supports universal background checks for gun purchases and transfers, with certain exceptions. She cosponsored the Keep Americans Safe Act, which would prohibit the possession or transfer of large-capacity ammunition magazines, a common weapon used in mass shootings. Similarly, Luria cosponsored the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019, which prohibited the importation, sale, or transfer of semiautomatic weapons.
Racial equity is important to Luria, and she believes that systemic racism must be holistically addressed. She voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which dealt with law enforcement accountability for misconduct and would restrict certain practices. She also supported the No Funding for Confederate Symbols Act. With the hope of fixing the Black maternal mortality crisis, Luria supported the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. To address racial equity in education, she secured $10 million for Historic Preservation Grants for HBCUs.
Luria is running against nurse practitioner, Navy veteran, and Virginia State Senator Jen Kiggans (R). This past session, Kiggans introduced legislation attempting to bar trans girls from playing school sports. She also patroned legislation aiming to ban the teaching of accurate history in public schools. She applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling the moment a chance to “stand against the extremist Democrat policies…”
Due to Kiggans’ extreme views on abortion access and trans rights and her lack of support for public education, Congresswoman Luria is the most progressive candidate in this race.
4th Congressional District
Virginia’s 4th district includes 12 counties and parts of Chesterfield County, Henrico County, and Southampton County. With a population of 790,811 this district leans Democratic.
This election will be held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Congressman and attorney Donald McEachin (D), who has held the District 4 seat since 2017, is running against Leon Benjamin (R), a Richmond pastor and Gulf War veteran who is the current GOP chair of the Richmond Republican Party.
Democratic Representative Donald McEachin was first elected to Virginia’s Fourth District seat in 2016. Before running for Congress, he served in both the Virginia State House of Delegates and the Virginia State Senate. McEachin is a Regional Whip, as well as Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus. He is a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, the NAACP, and the Virginia State Bar. He is married to Collette McEachin, who serves as Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Richmond.
McEachin sits on several environmental committees, including the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Natural Resources, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, the Black Caucus’ Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force, and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. He also co-founded the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Congressional Task Force. He criticized the Supreme Court’s opinion that rolled back EPA authority, and was honored by the Choose Clean Water Coaltion.
A longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, McEachin pushes for expanding affordable healthcare, which he considers a human right. He supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act and spoke out against attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act. He voted in support of both the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan. Along with members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, he introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus to help address the Black maternal health crisis.
In 2020, NARAL Pro-Choice America gave McEachin a score of 100% for his voting record on reproductive freedom and abortion access. He voted in favor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, as well as the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. McEachin spoke out against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade and denounced Senate Republicans who blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act. He is a cosponsor of the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022.
McEachin introduced the Firearm Owners Responsibility and Safety Act, calling the gun violence epidemic a public health crisis. To combat gun violence in Richmond, he secured almost $1 million for Virginia Commonwealth University’s RVA Gun Violence Prevention Framework. He believes in limiting access to firearms and implementing red-flag laws.He voted in favor of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, and the Protecting Our Kids Act.
McEachin’s opponent is Leon Benjamin (R), a retired Navy veteran and pastor. He is a proud supporter of former President Trump, and engages in anti-LGBTQ and racist rhetoric. He opposes abortion and promotes disinformation. In 2010, Benjamin urged the U.S. Congress not to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. He also questions the results of the 2020 presidential election. Benjamin ran against McEachin in the 2020 race, losing with less than 40% of the vote.
Due to his extensive service to constituents in his district and commitment to progressive values, Congressman Donald McEachin is the most progressive candidate for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District.