Elaine Goodman Luria is an American politician representing Virginia’s 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019.
The Virginian Democrat is the first Jewish congresswoman raised in the Deep South.
Luria attends the Ohef Sholom Temple, a Reform Jewish synagogue in Norfolk.
She grew up in Alabama, where her great-grandfather eventually settled after immigrating from Poland in 1906. Her grandparents met during World War II and moved to Birmingham, where they were married at Temple Emanu-El, the synagogue where her mother and father later dated as teenagers.
When Luria was confirmed there in 1991, she received a white, hardcover copy of the Hebrew Bible with her name inscribed in gold lettering.
Luria attended the private Indian Springs School, which recently named her “Outstanding Alum of the Year”, and earned a black belt in karate.
She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and received a master’s in engineering management from Old Dominion University.
Prior to her election in 2018, Luria served as a Navy officer for 20 years, retiring at the rank of Commander. She served at sea on six ships as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer, deployed to the Middle East and Western Pacific, and culminated her Navy career by commanding a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors.
Luria was the first female American sailor to serve on a combat ship her whole career.
She is the Vice-Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.