VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It is the race you can't ignore--even if you wanted to.
The candidates in Virginia's Second Congressional District are blanketing the airwaves with ads.
And now Jen Kiggans and Missy Cotter Smasal are everywhere, every time you turn on the TV.
Between them, they and their backers have already spent $4.7 million on ads, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Kiggans, the Republican incumbent, is running on her record as a member of the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee.
She says she's all for the military and improving their quality of life.
"My work on the Armed Services Committee has been very meaningful and very personal to me. We have a lot of room to do better for active-duty men and women and their families," she said.
When asked about her top issue, Cotter Smasal, the Democrat challenger, said it's protecting women's right to choose.
"Reproductive rights as a whole, I think we've seen, MAGA extremists try to threaten reproductive rights in a number of ways. They've proven we can't trust them," she said.
Fifty-seven percent of the 2nd District is located in the City of Virginia Beach.
In 2022, Kiggans won the overall race by 2 percentage points over Elaine Luria.
Bu,t Luria did win the Beach by 405 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
As for this year's race, a September Wason Center poll showed Kiggans ahead of Cotter Smasal 45% to 40% with 9% undecided.
Both candidates say voters should vote for them.
"I say vote for the veteran who will stand up for veterans 'rights and for military families, vote for the woman who will stand up for women's rights and reproductive rights, vote for the small business owner who will actually stand up for our local economy and finally, vote for the person who will protect our democracy. And I will be that champion." said Cotter Smasal.
"We need common sense, level-headed people who understand how to work in a bipartisan manner, who understand compromise, who understand how to listen to each other, And I feel like my background both as a Naval officer, as a nurse, as a mom of four, those backgrounds have been instrumental in the work that I do in Congress every day," said Kiggans.
And there is a third candidate: Independent Robert E. Reid, Junior. Reid does not have a website, or a phone number listed by the Virginia Department of Elections. According to Ballotpedia, he has raised and spent zero dollars.
The widowed retiree said he was contacted to run by a group called Patriots Run Project which has been described in Associated Press reporting as "secretive."
"If there had been anything slightly untoward or illegal or corrupt or immoral or anything, I wouldn't have run. And I never considered being anything but forthright and honest. I feel the voters deserve that," said Reid.
Kiggans is not happy about Reid's presence on the ballot, blaming Democrats.
"They know that they cannot beat me in a fair fight straight up on my record and policy priorities, so they resort to unethical and shady tactics like this," she said.
But Reid said his intentions are honorable, that he's not running to siphon votes away from anybody and he's not trying to be a spoiler.
"Absolutely. It's totally false," he said.