The Virginia governor's race may be the first political test of President Donald Trump's slashing of the federal workforce through DOGE

FILE - Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets visitors prior to the start of the Senate Session at the Virginia Capitol, Jan. 25, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

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

Democrats may be more excited than Republicans to welcome the special guest.

Earle-Sears will host a Friday night rally featuring Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate who is now running for Ohio governor. But it is Ramaswamy's short-lived tenure as co-leader of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency that has Democrats fired up in a state that was disproportionately impacted by the department's deep cuts to the federal workforce.

Democratic candidate for governor, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, called on Earle-Sears to cancel the event in light of 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."

Earle-Sears' team says that she's excited to welcome Ramaswamy to the event in suburban Richmond, noting that he emerged as a political powerhouse in Republican politics during the 2024 presidential campaign.

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, dozens of lawsuits and left roughly a quarter of a million Americans without jobs.

Many were in Virginia, where federal jobs account for an 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 highlights Trump's absence in the high-profile election so far.

Earle-Sears is widely considered a fervent follower of Trump's MAGA movement, and yet the Republican president 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.

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FILE - Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at a campaign rally, Oct. 9, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Earle-Sears' campaign reiterated ahead of the rally that she would welcome Trump to the state to campaign on her behalf. The White House is a short drive to the northern Virginia border.

Still, Democrats hope that Friday's focus will be on Ramaswamy's connection to DOGE.

A mobile billboard truck highlighting the issue will circle the event and the Virginia Capitol Complex, according to the state Democratic Party. The billboard will read, “Winsome Earle-Sears puts DOGE and Trump before Virginia."

Earle-Sears' team 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 that 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.