U.S. House · Virginia's 2nd District
Bishop Staten
CandidateIND
- Race
- U.S. House · Virginia's 2nd District
- Result
- Elaine Luria, projected winner
- Opponents
- Jennifer Kiggans (R); Elaine Luria (D); J. Matt Baker (IND)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did3 statements · 0 votes
I will allow women to make the decisions when it comes to their bodies. Women's rights are important to me.
Protect legal access to abortion
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 2
2026-11-03
| Jennifer Kiggans R | incumbent |
| Elaine Luria D | challenger |
| J. Matt Baker IND | challenger |
| Bishop Staten IND | challenger |
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
I will allow women to make the decisions when it comes to their bodies. Women's rights are important to me.
Says he will allow women to make decisions about their bodies.[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Free Medicare for All.
Answered a question about hospital and health care funding with a call for Medicare for All.[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
National rent freeze and moratorium on evictions.
Answered a question about housing with a call for a national rent freeze and an eviction moratorium.[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Geral D. "Bishop" Staten, an independent Suffolk, Virginia civil servant and community activist, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District to Elaine Luria. He ran against Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, Democrat Elaine Luria and fellow independent Matt Baker, campaigning on affordability, public safety and equal opportunity.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Staten was born and raised in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, in Suffolk, and earned a high school diploma from Nansemond River High School.[1] He says his first job was as a car hop at Sonic Drive-In, which he held for two years in high school, and he has worked as a civil servant.[1]
Staten describes himself as the youngest person to run for mayor of Suffolk, in 2016 at age 30, and as the runner-up in a race for Commissioner of the Revenue with 10,909 votes.[1] In his Ballotpedia survey he also lists a short stint with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, work as a public-address announcer for Kings Fork girls' and boys' basketball, and service as secretary of a nonprofit organization, the PPPCP.[1] He received 0.9% of the vote to Elaine Luria's 53.0%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]
In their own words
Priorities
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Broad tariffs on imported goods
“Restore Congress's authority over broad tariffs.”[4]
In the VPM/WHRO questionnaire, on trade policy
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/bishop-staten
Compare all 4 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Bishop Staten · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey Candidate's own words
- 2.Luria and Kiggans rematch in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District among most watched races in nation · WHRO / Virginia Mercury · 2026-09-28 News report
- 3.U.S. House · Virginia's 2nd District results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 4.2nd District Q&A: Matt Baker, Jen Kiggans, Elaine Luria, Geral "Bishop" Staten · VPM News / WHRO candidate questionnaire · 2026-09-24 News report
- 5.Bishop Staten · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2025-01-01 Candidate's own words