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The frantic race to the right in the VA-02 Republican primary is heating up, and Jen Kiggans clearly has something to prove.
New reporting highlights how Kiggans, locked in a bruising primary with conspiracy theorist Jarome Bell and facing accusations from her own party that she’s a “Republican In Name Only,” is attempting to curry favor with her fringe base by pushing extreme legislation in the Virginia General Assembly. As the Washington Post writes, to win her party’s nomination “… first Kiggans has to withstand a challenge hard to her right from Jarome Bell, who has built his platform around extreme rhetoric.”
After continued pressure from the right for her “consultant-driven” campaign, Kiggans is getting desperate. Earlier this month, Kiggans took to radio to complain that she was “sick and tired” of having her conservative credentials questioned — and it seems like those questions are going to keep on coming.
Read more about the race to the right in the VA-02 Republican primary in the Washington Post:
Washington Post: Va. Sen. Kiggans, congressional hopeful, leads hot-button GOP bills banning ‘divisive concepts’ in school, restricting trans athletes
By Meagan Flynn
January 30, 2022
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“[…] Kiggans’s decision to carry the mantle on these two GOP priorities will probably lay the foundation for the record she’ll run on as she seeks the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Elaine Luria (D) in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the nation.”
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“But first Kiggans has to withstand a challenge hard to her right from Jarome Bell, who has built his platform around extreme rhetoric.”
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“[Bell] has decried ‘vaccine apartheid’ and ‘anti-white racism in our classrooms,’ and frequently spreads the falsehood that ‘massive fraud’ cost former president Donald Trump his reelection. He has advocated for executing people convicted of voter fraud.”
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“In fundraising emails, Bell has sought to paint Kiggans as a ‘fake RINO,’ or ‘Republican In Name Only.’”
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“Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District is about as purple as they come […] The district — full of independents and centrist voters, including many veterans — has long been home to lawmakers who at times haven’t flinched to break with their party. Luria, a retired Navy commander, is a defense hawk who has joined Republicans on backing certain military policies and funding, while backing her party’s marquee legislation, such as the Build Back Better Act and voting rights legislation.”
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