Person

Elaine Luria

Elaine Luria served as the Representative for Virginia’s Second Congressional District from 2019-2023. While in Congress she served as the Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and as a member of the the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. She also served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

In Congress, Luria championed a strong military; her work consistently resulted in increased defense budgets, emphasizing shipbuilding and improving key capabilities in the Pacific. Luria was instrumental in the passage of the PACT Act, greatly increasing access to care for veterans with health conditions related to toxic exposure, such as burn pits. Luria was also a consistent voice on advanced nuclear technology, passing bipartisan legislation to field advanced reactor demonstration projects. Luria was consistently lauded as one of the most bipartisan legislators and in her freshman term as the “most effective” freshman member of the House.

Prior to her election, Luria served two decades in the United States Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander, serving at sea on six ships as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer, with six deployments to the Middle East and Western Pacific, culminating her Navy career by commanding a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors. Luria graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Physics and History and received a Master’s in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.