CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — With President Donald Trump noticeably absent from Virginia's race for governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears turned to a prominent Trump ally to help energize supporters Friday night.
And Democrats may have been more excited than Republicans to welcome the special guest.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential contender and current candidate faced a crowd of roughly 2,000 inside a cavernous barn in suburban Richmond as Earle-Sears looked on. He focused on immigration, free speech and turning swing-state Virginia “redder" than ever before.
“If you want to grow economy in this state, vote Sears,” he charged. “If you want Virginia to pave America’s path back to greatness, vote Sears!”
Ramaswamy did not mention, however, his as co-leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, a role that had Democrats fired up in a state that was disproportionately impacted by the commission's deep cuts to the federal workforce.
As Ramaswamy spoke, a mobile billboard truck highlighting the issue — it read, “Winsome Earle-Sears puts DOGE and Trump before Virginia" — circled the venue.
Earle-Sears' Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, called on Earle-Sears to cancel the event before it even started. She pointed to Ramaswamy's role as “one of the chief architects of the DOGE effort," which, the Democrat noted, "has led to thousands upon thousands of Virginians losing their jobs."
Perhaps no election in 2025 or 2026 will test the political impact of Trump’s sweeping campaign to slash the federal workforce more than the Virginia governor’s race. The DOGE fight sparked nationwide protests and dozens of lawsuits and left roughly a quarter of a million Americans without jobs.
Many were in Virginia, where federal jobs account for . Specifically, Virginia will lose an estimated 32,000 jobs this year because of federal government cuts, according to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
Ramaswamy's appearance also highlighted Trump's absence in the high-profile election so far.
In brief remarks, he barely mentioned Trump or the Republican president's accomplishments. Ramaswamy is a close ally of Trump and a thought leader in the Make America Great Again movement.
As he spoke, someone in the crowd shouted, “Vivek 2032!” a reference to another potential presidential bid.
Earle-Sears is widely considered a fervent supporter of Trump, and yet the Republican president has not crossed the Potomac River to campaign with her, or publicly committed to doing so. Republican operatives believe the president's absence is tied to his fear of backing a candidate who may be on track to lose in November.
Earle-Sears' campaign reiterated ahead of the rally that she would welcome Trump to the state to campaign on her behalf, even while describing Ramaswamy as a powerhouse in Republican politics.
Earle-Sears' team noted that Ramaswamy's tenure with DOGE was incredibly brief.
Indeed, while Trump initially named Ramaswamy a co-leader of the department, he left the operation after less than two months to focus on a bid for Ohio governor. Tech titan Elon Musk ultimately emerged as the face of Trump’s cost-cutting operation.
At the time, Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said Ramaswamy “ in helping us create DOGE.”
”We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last two months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again," she said on the day of Trump's inauguration.
Ramaswamy's appearance, Spanberger said, is evidence that Earle-Sears “won't defend Virginians who are losing their jobs.”
“If she can't even do that now, Virginians certainly shouldn't expect her to stand up for them as governor,” Spanberger said.
One audience member, Peggy Lee of Midlothian, Virginia, said she liked Ramaswamy and DOGE was not on her mind.
“DOGE came and did what needed to be done in Washington," she said.
