The shutdown shakes up politics in Virginia, home to more than 300,000 federal workers

By Eric Bradner, Eva McKend, CNN

Chantilly, Virginia (CNN) — The federal government shutdown — and the escalating battle over which party bears the most blame — has injected a major new question mark into the governor’s race in Virginia, home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Early voting is already underway in the race between Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Along with the New Jersey governor’s race, it represents a critical gauge of the nation’s political mood one year into Donald Trump’s presidency.

The state is home to more than 300,000 federal workers — more than any other state but Maryland. That reality means anxiety over government shutdowns and their economic fallout runs especially deep in northern Virginia’s densely populated suburbs outside Washington, DC.

Mike Magee, a 72-year-old retired former defense contractor from Aldie, said he was thinking about the threat of a shutdown Tuesday as he cast his early ballot for Spanberger.

“If we shut down, we lose essential services that are important. As taxpayers, we lose the services of the people that do the work that we’re budgeting, and it’s just a real shame that the parties can’t work together to come up with a way to keep the government going,” he said. “I absolutely blame the Republicans.”

He said he believes Spanberger is an impressive candidate but also wanted to “send a message to our country that we need a change in direction.”

Robert, a 71-year-old Navy veteran in Leesburg who asked to only be identified by his first name, said a shutdown was “one of the things on my mind” as he voted Tuesday.

“If the government does get shut down, you can blame it on (Sen. Chuck) Schumer,” he said. “He wants everything to go back to the way it was under Joe Biden, and that’s not the direction this country should be going in.”

Races for governor in Virginia are often seen as barometers of the national mood: The state limits governors to one term, so it’s always an open-seat race. Once a Republican-leaning state, Virginia now favors Democrats in presidential elections but remains competitive, as Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proved with his 2021 victory.

Already, Trump’s administration has slashed many federal jobs through Department of Government Efficiency-led firings and buyouts. The threat of further cuts looms after a memo issued last week by the White House’s budget office said a shutdown would serve as a legal justification for sweeping new layoffs.

“Given the impact of the tariffs, the impact of DOGE, the impending impact of the so-called ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ I as a candidate for governor am focused on the fact that a government shutdown is just one additional element that will create and continue to create dire circumstances for so many Virginians,” Spanberger told The Hill this week.

Earle-Sears was among 14 Republican lieutenant governors who signed a letter dated Monday to Senate leaders in both parties, calling for Democrats to support a “clean” continuing resolution to keep the government funded into November — the approach favored by congressional Republicans.

“It’s the Democrats who are holding this up when all we want is a clean continuing resolution so that we can continue to negotiate,” she told CNN at a campaign event last week.

The threat of a shutdown could force the two gubernatorial campaigns to focus on the same issue — a rarity in a race that has seen Spanberger seek to drive an economics and affordability-focused message, tying Earle-Sears to Trump’s policies, while Earle-Sears has hammered her Democratic rival on cultural issues, notably trans participation in youth sports. One ad casts Spanberger as “for they/them, not for us.”

Still, CNN’s conversations with early voters made clear that a shutdown, and the ensuing battle over who is to blame, is far from the only factor being considered by voters — many of whom made up their minds long ago.

Peter Gustafson, a 72-year-old retired graphic designer who lives near Leesburg, said “of course” he was thinking about the shutdown when he cast his vote for Spanberger on Tuesday.

However, he said, the shutdown didn’t change his opinion on the governor’s race.

“I think it’s the best alternative to the criminal we have in the White House right now,” he said.

David Mohr, a 68-year-old information technology professional in Leesburg, said Earle-Sears was his choice because “her values, in terms of moving Virginia forward, keeping our kids safe in school — those are important for me.”

He said he isn’t sure which party he blames for the shutdown.

“It’s just, like, par for the course,” he said.

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