Could DOGE backfire on Republicans? Virginia election is a test case.

Thousands of federal employees have already been fired, and more cuts are coming.

Virginia is home to one of the country’s largest federal workforces, behind only Washington , D.C. , and California .

Democratic leaders say the layoffs will be felt throughout the state, as friends and family members lose their jobs and trigger a domino effect.

Republicans are offering nothing more than a “thoughts and prayers’ approach, says Susan Swecker , chairwoman of the Virginia Democratic Party .

Democrats hope to hold onto, or even build on, the narrow majorities they won in both houses of the General Assembly in 2021 , despite losing the governorship.

Democrats have painted Republicans ’ response as coldly pragmatic, blindly following the will of the president.

Republican Delegate Rob Bloxom says the current number of federal employees who have applied for unemployment in the state is somewhere between 70 and 300 .

“Everybody is just guessing” the true percentage of Virginia workers who will be affected, he says.

Virginia , which relies heavily on income taxes for its budget, is constitutionally required to have a balanced budget.