VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Another Democratic candidate is throwing his hat into the ring for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans.
Virginia Beach attorney Jake Denton announced his campaign for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District on Wednesday afternoon. The district is comprised of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Franklin, along with Southampton, Isle of Wight, Northampton and Accomack Counties.
Denton is the second Democratic candidate vying to unseat the first-term Kiggans, following Missy Cotter Smasal's entrance into the race last fall.
In a news release sent to 13News Now on Wednesday, Denton touted his work as a civil rights and constitutional law attorney, saying he practiced law with his father for 10 years before opening his own law firm in 2022.
Denton said he believes in "finding common ground to solve big problems."
"We need a leader in the 2nd District who’s focused on building our economy, restoring reproductive rights, and protecting the rule of law,” Denton wrote. “But extremists – Donald Trump and his followers – are threatening our Constitution and basic freedoms like the right to choose and the right to vote. Trump tried to overturn the last election and claims he’s above the law. Trump talks openly about turning our democracy into a dictatorship. Americans deserve better.”
According to the news release, Denton raised more than $100,000 since he began testing the waters for a House campaign in late December.
The 2024 House election in Virginia's 2nd District is expected to be hotly contested, considering the close result of the 2022 election and the district's history of changing hands between Democrats and Republicans. Kiggans, who was a Virginia state senator, defeated the two-term Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria 51% to 48%.
Leading up to the 2022 election, political forecasters such as the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball considered the race between Kiggans and Luria to be a tossup.
Kiggans launched her 2024 re-election campaign earlier this month in Virginia Beach, while Smasal started her campaign in September with a list of high-profile endorsements, including former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan.
Smasal also has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm of the U.S. House Democrats. The group announced Monday that Smasal was placed in the "Red to Blue" program that seeks to help Democrats retake the House by targeting districts currently held by Republicans but largely won by President Joe Biden in 2020.
Primary elections for the U.S. House races in Virginia will take place June 18.
