Democrats in Virginia are counting on cuts to the federal workforce playing a key role in helping them win them back the governor’s seat.
As President Donald Trump’s administration takes steps to reduce the federal workforce, Virginia, which neighbors Washington and has among the highest number of federal workers of any state in the country, is poised to be hit especially hard. And its off-year gubernatorial race is set to be an early indicator of how much the cuts resonate with voters.
The race is expected to be a competitive one between former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, and both parties are eager for a shot to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
“This entire campaign is going to be about working families, and what we don’t want to get lost in the sauce is the fact that Winsome Sears has been either silent or taken these attacks by Donald Trump and Elon Musk as a joke,” Lamont Bagby, the chair of Virginia’s Democratic party, told NOTUS.
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Earle-Sears’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment. In an audio recording published by progressive outlet MediasTouch on March 28, Earle-Sears is heard underplaying the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency, saying that job losses happen “all the time.” She criticized the media’s coverage of the cuts as “making it out to be this huge, huge thing.”
Democrats in the state are making a point of featuring those comments in their messaging.
The Democratic Party of Virginia unveiled three billboards along Interstate 64 in Hampton Roads, home to a large number of federal workers, saying, “Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t care about 53,394 and counting unemployed Virginians.” The number is in reference to the state’s most recent unemployment number, as tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“I’m hearing from Virginians across the Commonwealth who are worried about what these attacks on Virginia’s federal workers mean for their livelihoods, their careers, and our economy,” Spanberger said in a statement to NOTUS. “This isn’t about politics, this is about real families and putting Virginians first — and as Governor, I will always stand up for Virginia’s workforce and economy, no matter who is in the White House.”
Other Democrats in the state also see an opening to reach voters.
“The frustrations that we feel just mount as we watch the leadership in Virginia just be cheerleaders for Trump,” said Howard Rudat, chair of Stafford County Democrats. “All the missteps that we’re seeing at the national level just play in so well for Spanberger’s campaign.”
Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy and politics at Third Way, a center-left think tank, told NOTUS that because Virginians are especially exposed to whatever is happening in Washington, Democrats are in a great position to swing voters.
“It’s really given Democrats a really big line of attack because for Virginians, even if you’re not directly impacted by the cuts, like in your family, they are still seeing cuts to programs and services relied on in their community,” Erickson told NOTUS.
Since Trump has taken office, at least 121,000 federal workers have been laid off or targeted for layoffs, according to one analysis by CNN. This has ultimately created an environment of job uncertainty that Democrats say will be on voters’ minds when they head to the polls.
In a Democratic virtual town hall this week to mark Trump’s first 100 days, Rep. Don Beyer tied the federal workforce cuts across Virginia to Republican leadership.
“Donald Trump and Winsome Earle-Sears have shown us exactly who they are and the damage they can do in a short amount of time,” Beyer said during the event Tuesday. “We want a Virginia where Virginia comes first, and we need to fight for it. That fight starts now, and it starts with electing Abigail Spanberger and significantly expanding our majority in the House of Delegates.”
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Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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