The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has invested $1.5 million into Virginia to help Democrats win up and down the ballot.
The cash infusion is an initial investment, the group said, and is part of its “Organizing Summer” aimed at increasing voter engagement ahead of the state’s off-year elections later this year.
The investment, according to a DNC announcement, will help Virginia Democrats spotlight failures by Republicans in the state, including their votes for President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and federal job cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, more commonly known as DOGE.
The DNC says Trump’s tax package and budget bill, which Republicans supported, will lead to 323,000 Virginia residents losing their health care, a reference to cuts to Medicaid that have not yet taken effect. The number is from a Joint Economic Committee analysis of the budget bill.
The DNC, in its announcement, also made reference to new CNBC business friendliness rankings, which saw Virginia drop from being the top state for business in America last year to No. 4 this year, a dip largely attributed to federal job cuts under the Trump administration.
In 2024, there were 144,000 federal jobs in Virginia, a number that grows to 300,000 when accounting for those who work for government contractors or who commute to work in Washington, according to CNBC. Job losses in the federal sector led to higher-than-average unemployment in Virginia, the outlet explained, landing at 3.4% unemployment in May, a number still well below the national average despite some recent increases.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is term-limited out of office after this year, has been working to reemploy federal employees whose jobs were lost in the private sector, launching a campaign complete with its own website, VirginiaHasJobs.com. Youngkin previously told CNBC’s Squawk Box in April that there were 250,000 unfilled job opportunities in the state. That number, CNBC reported, has since dropped just below 200,000.
“Donald Trump and Virginia Republicans have betrayed the commonwealth. From Elon Musk destroying the livelihoods of thousands of Virginians through DOGE, to Donald Trump and Virginia Republicans kicking 323,000 Virginians off their health insurance, to Glenn Youngkin and state Republicans leading Virginia to fall in the rankings of the top states for business, Republicans have utterly failed the commonwealth,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said.
“Now, Democrats are giving Virginians an alternative to extreme Republican candidates with real Democratic leadership to make the state more affordable for working families. This investment will aid strong Democratic leaders like Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones and turbocharge organizing efforts while building Democratic infrastructure that will help support Democratic victories all across the ballot.”
The initial investment into Virginia for coordinated campaign efforts across a variety of races is aimed at helping to hire organizers and other key staff to reach voters early and often; funding early persuasion programs to educate voters on what’s at stake this election cycle; testing messages; and expanding reach across key constituencies where ground was previously lost, such as within the Black, Latino, and Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander demographics.
“Our elections this year are the most critical in the country, and Chair Martin understands that to win, we must organize everywhere and leave no voter behind. The DNC’s investment will help us reach every corner of the Commonwealth with a clear message: Democrats are fighting back against Donald Trump’s reckless and extreme agenda,” Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Lamont Bagby said.
“As he attacks our jobs, tanks our economy, and attempts to dismantle our public schools, the only leaders who are standing up for Virginians are Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, Jay Jones, and our 100 House of Delegates nominees. They are the firewall Virginia needs, and with the continued support of our partners, we’re ready to win.”
Virginia races this year could have national implications — or at least serve as a taste of what’s to come nationally in next year’s Midterm Elections. It’s one of two states that host statewide elections the year after a Presidential Election, along with New Jersey.
The two states’ off-year elections often serve as a bellwether for the Midterms, and as a referendum on the party in power in Congress and the White House, currently all controlled by Republicans, though narrowly in the House and Senate.
And Virginia has been shifting back toward the political left, with Democrats gaining back complete control of its Legislature in 2023 and with then-Vice President Kamala Harris winning last year’s Presidential Election in the state by less than 6 points, though that’s a much smaller margin that former President Joe Biden’s win in the state in 2020, which was a 10-percentage-point victory.
The state’s top race this year is for Governor, as Youngkin can’t seek re-election due to term limits. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Spanberger is running against the state’s current Lt. Governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears.
Democrats are also working to win back the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and maintain and grow its majority in the Legislature.
