This story was reported and written by our media partner, the Virginia Mercury.
U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican from Virginia Beach, is finding herself in a politically precarious position as she seeks a third term in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional races.
She continues defending her support for President Donald Trump and his administration’s war in Iran while also acknowledging the economic strain the conflict is placing on voters back home.
During an April appearance on “The John Fredericks Show,” Kiggans underscored her support for U.S. military actions against Iran, saying she “couldn’t be a stauncher supporter” of the effort.
“I look forward to just continuing to support not only the actions of the administration, but also our men and women in uniform and their families who are here in Hampton Roads,” Kiggans said during the interview.
But the congresswoman also acknowledged the economic fallout from the conflict, particularly the rising fuel prices that have become a growing frustration across Hampton Roads and beyond.
“I need gas prices to come back down,” she said. “I too am tired of paying high prices at the pump. We were doing good for a while. I know that the Iran conflict has a little bit to do with it, but we’ll keep working on it. We need that to come down before the midterms.”
The comments gave Democrats new material as they try to tie vulnerable Republicans to both Trump’s foreign policy and the economic consequences of a military conflict that has lasted far longer than the administration initially projected.
Democrats target Kiggans over Iran comments
Former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria, the Democrat Kiggans defeated in 2022 who is now seeking a comeback, strongly criticized the congresswoman’s support for the war.
“Jen Kiggans once again put President Trump above Hampton Roads and cast the deciding vote to continue this reckless war with Iran,” Luria said in an email Wednesday.
“She gave President Trump a blank check for an unnecessary war that is raising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump. The working families and military families of Hampton Roads deserve better than her failed leadership and empty promises.”
Eli Cousin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, also tried to connect Kiggans directly to rising costs of living.
“Jen Kiggans lied to Virginians’ faces when she promised she would lower costs,” Cousin said.
“Her staunch support for a reckless war in Iran is the reason why Virginians are paying more at the gas pump and have less money in their wallets. Virginians can’t afford Kiggans’ cost-spiking agenda, and that’s exactly why she’ll be fired in November.”
The Mercury contacted Kiggans’ congressional office and her campaign with questions about her comments in the interview, the ongoing conflict and the economic impact on residents in her district, but the campaign did not respond to several emails.
Rising gas prices hit Hampton Roads
Gas prices across Virginia, particularly in Hampton Roads, have continued to climb since the conflict began in late February, putting additional pressure on a region heavily dependent on commuting and military travel.
According to AAA’s Virginia gas price tracker, the average price for regular gasoline in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News region stood at about $2.95 per gallon in May 2025. By early April 2026, it had climbed above $4, and by Wednesday reached roughly $4.40 per gallon, which is higher than the statewide average of $4.33 that same day.
The increases track rising instability in global oil markets after the Iran conflict escalated.
In late April, U.S. gas prices had surged more than 40% since the beginning of the war because of supply concerns and disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict. Earlier in the spring, Axios found the national average approached $4 per gallon by the end of March.
Virginia drivers began to feel the effects almost immediately. In early March, Richmond-based WWBT reported overnight price spikes as the conflict intensified overseas.
By early May, frustration among drivers in Hampton Roads had become increasingly visible.
Another WWBT report documented residents describing commuting costs that had jumped from from roughly $50 to as much as $70 or $80 per tank. One driver told the station he had stopped filling his tank completely and instead paid only what he could afford.
Meanwhile, global oil prices touched $100 a barrel again Tuesday morning, marking renewed instability after the U.S. launched new strikes against Iran.
Eric Claville, a political analyst at Norfolk State University, said during political campaigning economic concerns like rising gas prices can quickly overshadow ideological arguments about foreign policy.
“It is very hard for a candidate to actually balance something like that,” Claville said. “Because these are kitchen table topics, like gas and affordability.”
He added that veterans “that were actually hit in the very beginning” by some of the policies of the Trump White House “haven’t forgotten about that. The voters understand ideology, but they also understand their pocketbooks as well.”
Even after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month struck down Virginia’s voter-improved redistricting referendum that would have given Democrats an advantage in 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts, the current 2nd District remains the most vulnerable Republican-held seat in Virginia and one of the country’s most closely watched U.S. House races.
The district includes Accomack, Northampton and Isle of Wight counties; the cities of Virginia Beach, Suffolk and Franklin; parts of Chesapeake; and part of Southampton County. Its large military population has long made national security issues politically significant there.
Almost 40,000 active-duty and reserve military personnel and more than 80,000 veterans reside in the area — nearly 15% of the district’s population and double the national average.
Kiggans, a U.S. Navy veteran herself, raised more than $4.7 million for her reelection campaign by March 31, according to data by the Virginia Public Access Project, while Luria raised roughly $2.8 million. Both candidates are also facing primary challengers.
The district is expected to become one of the Democrats’ top pick-up opportunities nationally.
Alex Keena, an associate professor for political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, said Kiggans may have complicated her own political position by publicly acknowledging that the Iran conflict is contributing to higher gas prices while continuing to support the war itself.
“This is inexplicable,” Keena said of Kiggans publicly linking to higher gas prices.
“The war serves no clear objective, and the administration has yet to provide a coherent explanation for why attacking Iran was necessary or how it will end up benefiting American interests in the long term.”
Keena said the political risk for Kiggans is not only her position on the war itself, but also the perception that she has aligned herself too closely with Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in Virginia.
“The danger is that she will be perceived as a rubber stamp who approves of Trump’s policies that might sound great within the MAGA world, but are not appealing to the majority of the country that does not live within the echo chamber,” he said.
NSU’s Claville said Kiggans’ acknowledgment in her recent radio interview that the Iran war contributed to higher gas prices may not necessarily hurt her politically, but neither is it likely to help.
“I don’t think she misspoke, I think that she told the truth,” Claville said. “However, around midterm elections, gas prices hopefully will come down, but they likely won’t because of how it was purchased on the market.”
Keena argued prolonged military conflicts combined with economic hardships have historically created problems for the party in power.
“History suggests this is a very big risk,” he said, pointing to the 2006 midterm elections, when public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war and then-President George W. Bush’s administration contributed to major Democratic gains nationwide, including the flipping of a Republican U.S. Senate seat in Virginia.
“There are no economic benefits to this war, and Americans are feeling the pain at the pump and in rising prices for consumer goods,” Keena added. “History suggests they will take out their dissatisfaction on the party that is in charge, which does not bode well for Republicans.”