A preacher(牧师，传道人) kicked off(开始，拉开序幕) the campaign rally with prayers and a prediction: the regime in Iran “shall fall and a new government will come”, allowing Christian churches “to multiply there”. Several Republican notables(知名人士，要人) took the stage, followed by the main attraction(主要看点，压轴人物), Jen Kiggans, a two-term member of the House of Representatives for Virginia’s 2nd district, who told the crowd that her uphill(艰难的，费力的) re-election contest was “the fight of our lives(生死之战，毕生最重要的一仗)”.
一位牧师以祈祷和预言为竞选集会开场：伊朗政权“必将垮台，新政府将会到来”，届时基督教教堂将“在那里遍地开花”。几位共和党知名人士先后登台，随后是压轴人物珍·基根斯——代表弗吉尼亚州第二选区的两届联邦众议员。她告诉人群，她这场艰难的连任之战是“我们一生中最重要的一仗”。
America’s war with Iran looms large(显得突出，占据重要位置) in this closely contested(竞争激烈的，有争议的) race, one of several dozen that will determine whether Democrats can win control of the lower chamber(下议院，众议院) of Congress, and if they do, by how many seats. Ms Kiggans is a former navy helicopter pilot. Her Democratic opponent, Elaine Luria, is also a former navy officer who held the seat before Ms Kiggans. The district hosts a naval air base that dispatched(派遣，调遣) fighter jets to the Middle East in September; military veterans(退伍军人，老兵) make up about 15% of the adult population.
美国与伊朗的战争在这场势均力敌的选战中占据突出位置。这场选战是数十场关键选区角逐之一，其结果将决定民主党能否赢得众议院的控制权，以及若能赢得，优势会有多大。基根斯女士曾是海军直升机飞行员。她的民主党对手伊莱恩·卢里亚也曾是海军军官，并在基根斯之前持有该席位。该选区设有一个海军航空基地，今年9月曾向中东派遣战斗机；退伍军人约占成年人口的15%。
American voters already regard the war in Iran as a mistake on par with the disastrous war in Iraq, which lasted nearly nine years and during which more than 4,000 American military personnel died (see chart).(美国选民已经认为伊朗战争是一个与灾难性的伊拉克战争同等严重的错误——伊拉克战争持续近九年，超过4000名美国军人丧生。) Yet Congress is polarised(两极分化的) and paralysed(瘫痪的，无法行动的), unable to translate public dissent(异议，不同意见) into pressure on Donald Trump to resolve the conflict. The race in Virginia’s 2nd district suggests why: though some Republican candidates in midterm races have called for the war to end, Ms Kiggans is among the great majority who have backed Mr Trump to the hilt(全力地，彻底地). She accuses Ms Luria, a critic of the war, of adopting “a pro-Iran stance(亲伊朗立场), an antimilitary stance”.
美国选民已经认为伊朗战争是一个与灾难性的伊拉克战争同等严重的错误——伊拉克战争持续近九年，超过4000名美国军人丧生（见图表）。然而，国会却陷入两极分化和瘫痪，无法将公众的异议转化为对唐纳德·特朗普的压力，迫使其解决冲突。弗吉尼亚州第二选区的选战揭示了原因：尽管中期选举中一些共和党候选人呼吁结束战争，但基根斯女士属于绝大多数全力支持特朗普的人之一。她指责战争批评者卢里亚女士采取“亲伊朗立场、反军队立场”。