Virginia Republicans turn on each other after crushing losses

Source: Politico

11/09/2025 10:00 AM EST


In Virginia, it’s Republicans’ turn to be lost in the wilderness, and they’re spreading blame for their drubbing. Many say lackluster gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears was deeply flawed and didn’t focus enough on the economy. Some accuse popular GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin of failing to use more of his war chest to boost candidates. Others complain that the state party failed to employ an aggressive strategy — and a group of county party chairs is considering calling for the resignation of the Virginia Republican Party chair.

Basically, they blame everyone but President Donald Trump. “They just smoked us. I mean, gosh, they wiped us off the map,” said Tim Anderson, a Republican who lost a House of Delegates race in the battleground Virginia Beach. “It’s going to take four years to rebuild what happened on Tuesday.”

Anderson, who was elected to the House in 2021, said Earle-Sears’ lack of a “motivational message that excited voters to get off the couch” doomed Republicans running at every level, who were already facing political headwinds caused by DOGE-inflicted federal job losses, along with the government shutdown.

It’s a warning sign for Republicans across the nation ahead of the 2026 races, especially without Trump atop the ballot. The GOP lost decisively Tuesday in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia, including in some reliably red areas — a shellacking that signals problems for the party as Democrats turn out in droves against Trump and his policies.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/09/virginia-republicans-election-losses-blame-00643211