Longest-Ever Shutdown Hurt Republicans in Virginia Elections

Nov. 5, 2025, 9:48 PM UTC

The longest-ever government shutdown, now in its 37th day, was a hindrance for Republicans who fared poorly in Virginia’s Tuesday elections, lawmakers said Wednesday.

The commonwealth’s concentration of federal workers near Washington, D.C., put a spotlight on the shutdown, as well as on President Donald Trump‘s push to reduce the federal workforce and shutter agencies. Lawmakers in both parties say the funding lapse made a difference in the elections, in which former US Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) won the gubernatorial race. Democrats also added at least 10 seats to their majority in the House of Delegates, the Associated Press ...

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