Elaine Luria, Jewish Democrat on the Jan. 6 committee, loses House race in Virginia

(JTA) — Rep. Elaine Luria, a reasonable Democrat who cites her Jewishness and noticed her profile develop as a member of the Home committee overseeing the investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, misplaced her bid for reelection in a Virginia swing district.

Luria, a former Navy commander, misplaced Tuesday in an in depth race to Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot. Virginia’s 2nd District, alongside its central coast, is house to an enormous Navy base and has a considerable inhabitants of veterans.

Luria was elected in 2018 within the anti-Trump wave of Democratic ladies who helped return Congress to Democratic management. She turned one of many Democrats most intently recognized with the mainstream pro-Israel foyer and was outspoken in calling out fellow Democrats whose Israel criticism she stated crossed into antisemitism.

She was a cautious protection hawk in a district the place some noticed former President Donald Trump as a hero. She stored a low profile within the more and more polarized setting that engulfed Washington as Trump antagonized rivals, liberals, Democrats, and minorities.

However Luria made nationwide headlines as one among 5 ladies Democrats who had served within the protection and intelligence communities who within the late summer time of 2019 modified their minds to help impeaching Trump — a shift that Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi took as permission to launch impeachment proceedings. The 5 representatives stated Trump’s try and blackmail Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden was a violation of the structure.

The 5 ladies, all in swing districts, earned a nickname because the “badass caucus.”

Luria, who attends a Reform synagogue, received flack in her district for becoming a member of within the prosecution of Trump, however she didn’t again down and finally joined the committee investigating his function within the Jan. 6 revolt. She made her case in opposition to Trump in an advert during which she held up a weathered Hebrew bible.

Redistricting made the district barely extra Republican, and political analysts targeted on Luria’s seat and two others within the state as a bellwether of what the midterms foretold.