Jen Kiggans


Jennifer A. Kiggans is an American politician and nurse practitioner. She is a Republican member of the Virginia Senate. She was first elected in 2019, and represents the 7th district, comprising parts of the cities of Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Previously, Kiggans was a United States Navy helicopter pilot.

Early life and career

Kiggans was born in Tampa, Florida, but graduated from high school in Orlando, Florida. As a high school student she worked in Walt Disney World.
From 1993 to 1994 Kiggans taught English in Japan through the JET Programme. She also lived in Japan as a Navy spouse, living there for about five years in total.
Kiggans was a United States 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. She is currently an adult geriatric nurse practictioner at Eastern Virginia Medical School and in private practice.

Political career

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 by a margin of 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. Ultimately, Kiggans won by a 50.4% to 49.5% margin.

Personal life

Jen Kiggans is a lifelong Catholic who is married to Steve Kiggans, a retired Navy F-18 pilot. They have four children.
Kiggans is friends with state senator Ghazala Hashmi. They were the only two senators first elected in 2019 who did not previously serve in the House of Delegates.