Democrats in governors races see political opportunity amid government shutdown

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GLEN RIDGE, N.J. (AP) — Democrats say fallout from the Trump administration’s aggressive tactics during the shutdown of the federal government could give them a welcome boost in the only two governors’ races on the ballot this year.

In Virginia, 175,000 people work for the federal government, according to the Congressional Research Service. In New Jersey, where federal workers number roughly 23,000 by the CRS's estimate, the Republican administration has announced the freezing of $18 billion in funding for a rail tunnel connecting the state to New York City.

The Nov. 4 elections in Virginia and New Jersey represent the next big tests of how voters view both President Donald Trump's second term and Democrats' reaction to it. They take place against the backdrop of the shutdown fight, ignited by Senate Democrats' decision to oppose a Republican-backed funding bill in hopes of negotiating an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The Republican president's threat to lay off more government workers and stop the tunnel project has left Democrats anticipating an unexpected boost in the off-year elections.

“I think this decision by Donald Trump on the Gateway tunnel is devastating for Jack Ciattarelli,” said Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey. “It puts Trump front and center.”

Ciattarelli is the Trump-backed Republican nominee for governor of New Jersey, a state that tilts toward Democrats but has shown a willingness to support the GOP in governor's races. He's running against U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a four-term Democratic congresswoman who has made Trump administration tactics a centerpiece of the case she's been making to Garden State voters.

The shutdown, and Trump's decision to pull the plug on the tunnel project, fits seamlessly into Sherrill's narrative. Outside a suburban New York City train station recently, she said the project is a boon for New Jersey laborers and commuters and blamed the president and her rival.

“We’re risking the failure of a century old tunnel. That means over 200,000 people every single day," she said. "It’s despicable that the president of the United States is costing us so much money and attacking our economy. And it’s despicable Jack Ciattarelli is going right along.”

Ciattarelli, in turn, blames Sherrill and her Democratic colleagues in Congress.

“Instead of doing her job, she chose to play partisan politics,” said campaign strategist Chris Russell. “She should be embarrassed.”

While Democrats see an opportunity in the shutdown and its aftermath, Republicans aren't ready to concede the point. Even those critical of Trump say it probably doesn't matter.

New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick, the lone Trump critic in this year's GOP primary, said voters he talks to all seem to have their minds made up already. They either love the president and back his policies — and Ciattarelli as his choice for governor — or dislike him intensely.

“It's all baked in,” he said.

New Jersey Republican Assembly member Brian Bergen said he doesn’t see the shutdown “taking” as an issue in the race. Despite the president narrowing the Democrats' margin of victory in New Jersey in 2024, he's still likely “underwater” with many in the state, he said.

He said the length of the shutdown could be a factor but didn't see it damaging Ciattarelli.

“I don't think that’s gonna translate to a negative effect to Jack," he said, pausing briefly before adding: “Every day is a new day. Anything can happen, especially with President Trump.”

Virginia Democrats see opportunity in the shutdown as well. The party's nominee for governor, Abigail Spanberger, has released ad after ad casting her opponent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears as a MAGA Republican who “speaks for Trump” and supports his firing of federal workers and the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Virginians are already facing the dire impacts of DOGE, reckless tariffs, and attacks on their healthcare coverage," she said. "And now, our Commonwealth faces totally unnecessary job cuts as President Trump promises to enact mass firings.”

The president's aggressive tactics have also surfaced in the Virginia House of Delegates campaign, where every seat will be on the ballot next month.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, said in an interview with MSNBC that Trump’s visit to a Naval base in Virginia on Sunday came as the paychecks of the service members he spoke to were being jeopardized because of the shutdown, adding: “Virginia voters are going to send a very strong message to Trump this next November.”

Earle-Sears has not directly addressed Trump’s role in the shutdown. Her campaign did not respond to an email asking about the impact of the shutdown.

Sarah Lamm, a federal worker from New Jersey who said she's currently working without pay as an “excepted” employee, declined to say who she'd be voting for in the governor's race but said the shutdown would definitely be on her mind. She said she's getting by because she's been financially “responsible” but doesn't know how long her savings could hold out.

Her message, she said was: “I’m somebody’s community member. I exist. This is a hardship for myself and my family right now.”