Virginia Democrats criticize Earle-Sears over DOGE cuts in new ad

The Democratic Party of Virginia rolled out a digital ad Tuesday tying Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) to federal workers losing jobs in the state as a result of the Trump administration’s efforts to scale down the size of the federal workforce. 

The ad, first reported by The Hill, is the state party’s first digital ad of the cycle. 

The spot features coverage of recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing unemployment claims in Northern Virginia growing 7.1 percent in February. 

The spot goes on to feature audio of the Republican gubernatorial nominee addressing federal cuts in the wake of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. 

“Virginia families are dealing with the economic fallout and what does Winsome Earle-Sears have to say?’ the ad's narrator says. 

“So, if you’ve ever lost your job and how many here have ever lost a job? “Oh, you mean it’s not unusual? It happens to everybody all the time? Okay,” Sears says in the audio, which was first reported by progressive media company MeidasTouch.

“And the media is making it out to be this huge, huge thing and I don’t understand why,” Sears continues. 

In a part of the audio that was not included in the digital ad, Sears touts the number of available jobs in the state. 

“We don’t want to see folks to lose their jobs,” Earle-Sears says in the audio. “We have over 250,000 jobs that we’ve created since we’ve been in office.” 

The ad underscores the effort from Democrats to make DOGE’s impact on Virginia’s federal workforce a key issue in November’s gubernatorial race. 

Census data shows there are roughly 320,000 full-time federal employees living in Virginia along with swaths of government contractors. The state is also home to a significant military population. 

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger has criticized Sears over the issue, noting in a statement earlier this month the state’s federal employees “are real people with real bills to pay.” 

“Now is not the time for the lieutenant governor to put blind ideology and allegiance to a political party ahead of the livelihoods of our neighbors and the strength of Virginia’s economy,” Spanberger said. 

Earle-Sears and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) have touted their administration’s “Virginia Has Jobs” initiative, which was launched in February. 

In addition to promoting 250,000 open jobs in the state, Youngkin also announced a “support resource bundle” would be available to federal workers looking for work. 

Youngkin said in a press conference announcing the initiative that he has “extraordinary empathy” for federal workers at risk of losing their jobs but noted the Trump administration is looking to weed out waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government.