Jen Kiggans

Jennifer Ann Kiggans (née Moore; born June 18, 1971) is an American politician, former United States Navy helicopter pilot, and geriatric nurse practitioner serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 2nd congressional district since 2023. Previously, Kiggans served in the Virginia Senate from 2020 to 2022. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Kiggans was first elected to the House in 2022, defeating Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria. She was re-elected in 2024.

A moderate Republican, she is a member of the Republican Governance Group.

Kiggans was born in Tampa, Florida, and graduated from high school in Orlando, Florida. As a high school student, she worked at Walt Disney World. She is an alumna of Boston University. In 1993 and 1994, she taught English in Japan through the JET Programme. She also lived in Japan as a Navy spouse for five years.

Kiggans joined the United States Navy in 1993 and was a Navy pilot for ten years, flying H-46 and H-3 helicopters.

After serving in the military, Kiggans attended nursing school at Old Dominion University and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She is an adult geriatric nurse practitioner at Eastern Virginia Medical School and in private practice.

In 2019, Kiggans ran for the Virginia Senate for the 7th district, which was being vacated by Republican incumbent Frank Wagner. In the Republican Party primary, Kiggans defeated Virginia Beach School Board member Carolyn Weems, 52% to 48%.

In the general election, Kiggans faced Democratic state Delegate Cheryl Turpin. The race was viewed as competitive, as the district had very narrowly favored Democrats in recent statewide elections. Kiggans and Turpin each spent over $500,000 on television advertisements. Kiggans won, 50.4% to 49.5%.

The Washington Post reported that "Her record didn't always fit neatly along a party line." She voted to expand nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people and for environmental protection measures.

In 2022, Kiggans introduced a bill to prohibit transgender girls from playing girls' sports and voted for an audit of the 2020 election.

Kiggans in 2022

Kiggans was the Republican nominee for Virginia's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 election. She narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria in the November 2022 general election, 52% to 48%.

Kiggans ran for re-election in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. Her district was considered relatively competitive, and the Cook Political Report rated her district as "lean Republican." Kiggans defeated Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal by a vote of 51% to 47%.

• Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
• Republican Main Street Partnership
• Republican Governance Group

Kiggans (center) with Governor Glenn Youngkin and Speaker Mike Johnson the night before the 2024 elections

According to The Washington Post, Kiggans "has never beat a 'stolen election' drum", but has hesitated to acknowledge Joe Biden as a legitimate president. She called for a forensic audit of Virginia's 2020 presidential election results; a previous audit of those results found no evidence of fraud. She has said that she does not believe the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago was justified.

Kiggans supports banning abortions after fifteen weeks of pregnancy, except for in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother. In June 2022, she expressed support for the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.

Kiggans opposes cuts to funding in the Military Construction, Veteran Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and supports improving military housing which she has described as, "in disrepair and unlivable".

In 2026, Kiggans was a cosponsor of the DIGNIDAD Act, which proposes a pathway to legal status for up to 12 million illegal immigrants, paired with stricter border enforcement and mandatory work and restitution requirements.

On December 1, 2023, Kiggans voted to expel Representative George Santos, and was the only Republican from Virginia to vote in favor the resolution.

In May 2025, Kiggans voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Kiggans is the lead sponsor of a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that would extend health care subsidies, which are set to expire on December 31, 2025, for one year. Politico wrote that "Kiggans has a track record of breaking with her party on some big issues but not tanking legislation to gain leverage."

In 2023, Kiggans was one of 18 Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan's nomination for Speaker of the House all three times. According to Kiggans, Jordan did not grant assurances he wouldn't cut the defense budget.

Kiggans advocated to maintain appropriated funds for NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and Langley Research Center in the 2026 federal budget. She argues that these locations are "prized possession for the Commonwealth" and that "the work that's going on there from the defense side, but also on the private industry side, [...] with places like Rocket Lab and Firefly, and Northrop Grumman is there."

Kiggans was accused of expressing agreement with radio commentator Rich Herrera's remark that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should get his "cotton-picking hands off of Virginia" in regards to the redistricting referendum. This led to calls for her resignation. Kiggans later clarified that she did not condone his language, but rather she was only agreeing with his notion that Jeffries stay out of Virginia politics.

Kiggans is a lifelong Roman Catholic. She has been married since 1999 to Steve Kiggans, a retired Navy F-18 pilot. They have four children. Kiggans' father is also a veteran, serving in the Vietnam War as an Army Green Beret.

• Congresswoman Jen Kiggans official U.S. House website
• Campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Jen Kiggans at the Virginia Public Access Project