Who’s more excited to welcome this Trump ally to Virginia — Democrats or Republicans?

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CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — With President Donald Trump noticeably absent from Virginia's race for governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears turned to a prominent Trump ally to help energize supporters Friday night.

And Democrats may have been more excited than Republicans to welcome the special guest.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential contender and current candidate for Ohio governor, faced a crowd of roughly 2,000 inside a cavernous barn in suburban Richmond as Earle-Sears looked on. He focused on immigration, free speech and turning swing-state Virginia “redder” than ever before.

“If you want to grow economy in this state, vote Sears,” he charged. “If you want Virginia to pave America’s path back to greatness, vote Sears!”

Ramaswamy barely mentioned Trump, however, and he ignored his short-lived tenure as co-leader of the president's Department of Government Efficiency, a role that had Democrats fired up in a state that was disproportionately impacted by the commission's deep cuts to the federal workforce.

As Ramaswamy spoke, a mobile billboard truck highlighting the issue — it read, “Winsome Earle-Sears puts DOGE and Trump before Virginia” — circled the venue.

Earle-Sears' Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, called on Earle-Sears to cancel the event before it even started. She pointed to Ramaswamy's role as “one of the chief architects of the DOGE effort,” which, the Democrat noted, “has led to thousands upon thousands of Virginians losing their jobs.”

Perhaps no election in 2025 or 2026 will test the political impact of Trump’s sweeping campaign to slash the federal workforce more than the Virginia governor’s race. The DOGE fight sparked nationwide protests and dozens of lawsuits and left roughly a quarter of a million Americans without jobs.

Many were in Virginia, where federal jobs account for roughly 5% of the state's workforce. Specifically, Virginia will lose an estimated 32,000 jobs this year because of federal government cuts, according to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

Ramaswamy's appearance also highlighted Trump's absence in the high-profile election so far.

In brief remarks, he avoided mentioning Trump or his accomplishments, despite being a close ally of the Republican president and a thought leader in the Make America Great Again movement.

As he spoke, someone in the crowd shouted, “Vivek 2032!” a reference to another potential presidential bid.

Earle-Sears is widely considered a fervent supporter of Trump, and yet Trump has not crossed the Potomac River to campaign with her, or publicly committed to doing so. Republican operatives believe the president's absence is tied to his fear of backing a candidate who may be on track to lose in November.

Earle-Sears' campaign reiterated ahead of the rally that she would welcome Trump to Virginia to campaign on her behalf, even while describing Ramaswamy as a powerhouse in Republican politics.

But Earle-Sears answered more delicately after the rally when asked whether she hoped the president or any other leading Republicans would join her on the campaign trail.

“Anybody who wants to come, come on down,” she told reporters.

While on stage, Earle-Sears did not mention the president or DOGE although she leaned into conservative cultural priorities — immigration and transgender kids' bathroom use, among others. She also touched on the economy.

“Folks, I am business owner, I know how to create jobs, (Spanberger) doesn’t,” she said. “We will keep creating jobs.”

The Earle-Sears' campaign noted that Ramaswamy's tenure with DOGE was incredibly brief.

Indeed, while Trump initially named Ramaswamy a co-leader of the department, he left the operation after less than two months to focus on a bid for Ohio governor. Tech titan Elon Musk ultimately emerged as the face of Trump’s cost-cutting operation.

At the time, Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said Ramaswamy “ played a critical role in helping us create DOGE.”

“We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last two months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again,” she said on the day of Trump's inauguration.

Ramaswamy's appearance, Spanberger said, is evidence that Earle-Sears “won't defend Virginians who are losing their jobs.”

“If she can't even do that now, Virginians certainly shouldn't expect her to stand up for them as governor,” Spanberger said.

One audience member, Peggy Lee of Midlothian, Virginia, said she liked Ramaswamy and DOGE was not on her mind.

“DOGE came and did what needed to be done in Washington,” she said.