Elaine Luria and Scott Taylor are locked in a close race. Here’s where they stand on key issues.

Nov. 03--Voters in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District will have a choice in Tuesday's election of two Navy veterans.

The 2nd includes all of Virginia Beach and the state's Eastern Shore as well as Norfolk's north side and several localities on the Peninsula, including Williamsburg and York County.

Here's a look at their backgrounds and stances on key issues:

Scott Taylor, Republican incumbent

Personal: Virginia Beach resident; 39 years old; single; one child

Education: Bachelor's degree, Harvard University Extension School, 2013.

Experience: 2nd District congressman, 2017-present, serves on House Appropriations Committee; Virginia House of Delegates, 2014-16; Navy SEAL, 1998-2005; and real estate broker. Unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2010 and Virginia Beach mayor in 2008.

Contact: https://scotttaylor.us

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Elaine Luria, Democrat

Personal: Norfolk resident; 43 years old; married to Robert Blondin; one child, two stepchildren.

Education: Master's degree, Old Dominion University, 2005; bachelor's degree, U.S. Naval Academy, 1993.

Experience: Owner of The Mermaid Factory; U.S. Navy officer 1997-2017, retired as a commander. First time running for office.

Contact: https://elaineforcongress.com/

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Taxes, debt and deficit

Taylor: Voted for 2017 tax overhaul that cut income taxes for individuals and corporations, saying it benefited lower-income people as well as the wealthy and corporations. Says legislation will spur economic growth that will make up the $1.9 trillion loss of revenue. Has argued most people in the district have seen an income tax reduction.

Says he can justify adding close to $2 trillion to the $21 trillion national debt over 10 years because it will help the economy. Favors cuts in federal spending, including the military, to reduce deficit spending. Says the bigger issue is finding a way to address non-discretionary programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid which account for about two thirds of federal spending.

Luria: Favors repealing the recent cuts in corporate income taxes passed by Congress' GOP majority. Says corporations that are enjoying large profits don't need tax breaks. Says revenues can be used in part for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, rail lines and waterways. She wants to leave in place tax cuts for individual taxpayers.

Says Congress has to curb deficit spending that adds hundreds of billions in new debt each year. Says unspecified "efficiencies" can be found in federal operations if both parties work together. Says cutting corporate taxes only makes it worse. Says investing federal dollars in infrastructure would generate millions of jobs and bring in more tax revenue.

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Immigration

Taylor: Favors allowing young people illegally brought to the U.S. as children to remain. Wants to find a way for others illegally in the country to "get right with the law." Wants to beef up immigration enforcement and border security. Opposes building a U.S.-Mexico border wall, saying it doesn't make sense.

Luria: Supports offering a path to citizenship for young people brought to the U.S. unlawfully when they were children. Wants to allow more legal immigration to fill labor needs and set up a method for people illegally in country to gain legal status. Opposes building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Says the U.S. can make better use of technology to monitor the border.

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Health care

Taylor: Opposes the Affordable Care Act, saying it's too expensive and unwanted by his constituents. Wants less government involvement in funding health care and more individual responsibility. Wants government to help consumers get more information about coverage options, costs and the quality of physicians' services.

Voted for the GOP's American Health Care Act, which would have cut federal health care spending by $100 billion, largely by reducing Medicaid, and would have led to 20 million losing their insurance. The measure, which passed the House but not the Senate, would have kept intact the requirement that people with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be denied insurance. However, it would have allowed states to get a waiver to charge substantially higher rates for some of those patients.

Luria: Favors the ACA -- known as Obamacare -- but wants some changes. Opposed the Republican Congress' attempt to repeal major portions of the law. Wants Washington to create a government health insurance policy that can compete with private insurers in on the marketplaces used by individuals and small employers. Says it can drive down prices.

Favors offering those as young as 50 or 55 the option to buy Medicare coverage -- a benefit now limited to people 65 or older. Argues allowing older people, who tend to have more health issues, to buy Medicare could lower private insurers' risk and reduce premiums for younger buyers. Opposes adopting single government health care program, known by some as Medicare for all.

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Gun laws

Taylor: Has said he would consider some tightening of background check laws but opposes universal checks to cover all transfers of firearms. Opposes other changes to current federal gun laws.

Luria: Supports universal background checks for all gun purchases, banning bump stocks and prohibiting gun sales to anyone on the nation's "No Fly" list. Favors either banning assault-style weapons or "making them more difficult to obtain." Says Congress should fund research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the causes of gun violence and publicly debate what weapons should be banned.

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Abortion

Taylor: Says he's personally opposed to abortion but supports a woman's right to make her own decision. Voted for bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. Says he would oppose the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.

Luria: Supports abortion rights. Opposes changes to existing laws.

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Military and veterans

Taylor: Favors buildup of military, including expansion of the Navy to 355 ships. Says Pentagon also must make cuts, including getting rid of $500 million in empty Army buildings. In response to complaints of poor management by the Department of Veterans Affairs, he introduced legislation -- now law -- that requires the VA secretary to approve in writing the reassignment of senior department executives and give Congress an annual report of job changes and their costs.

Luria: Favors buildup of military, including expansion of the Navy to 355 ships. Says her Navy experience gave her a good background in understanding defense needs and policies. Wants to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

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Climate change

Taylor: Says climate change is real but not entirely caused by man. Opposed Paris climate accord, saying it should have gone to the Senate for approval as a treaty given the rules and costs it imposed. Says federal government has a responsibility to help Hampton Roads cope with rising seas and sinking lands. Included a provision in the 2019 defense budget that requires the Pentagon to work with federal and local governments to address flooding on military base access roads, such as Hampton Boulevard in Norfolk.

Luria: Says man's activities contribute to the changing climate. Wants more federal focus on addressing the effect of rising seas in Southeast Virginia.

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Off-shore energy production

Taylor: Opposes drilling off Virginia's coast for gas and oil, but approves of off-shore seismic testing to determine what kind of minerals are below the ocean floor. Supports development of off-shore wind turbines if they do not interfere with Navy operations.

Luria: Opposes off-shore drilling and seismic testing. Supports development of off-shore wind turbines if they do not interfere with Navy operations.

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Social Security/Medicare

Taylor: Says Social Security should not be changed for those approaching retirement age -- but that those in their early 40s or younger will have to see changes to make sure the program stays solvent.

Luria: No proposals for changing the retirement programs other than expanding Medicare to allow some to buy into the program at a younger age.

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Minimum wage

Taylor: Opposes raising federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Says it would hurt the tourism and agriculture industries.

Luria: Says $7.25 an hour is too low. Favors gradually raising it to $15 an hour over six years.

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