McClellan: Republican shutdown would impact Virginia House, Senate elections in November

Virginia voters will blame Republicans in the November elections if their party chooses to shut down the federal government, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan said on MSNBC on Saturday.

“The first test will be this November, and we saw in prior government shutdowns, most dramatically in 2013, that it did have an impact on the elections in driving people to the polls,” said McClellan, a former member of the House of Delegates and State Senate, in an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Saturday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”

“We have over 170,000 federal employees in Virginia, over 130,000 active service military, who will wonder where their next paycheck is coming from,” said McClellan, who was elected to the U.S. House earlier this year to fill out the term of Donald McEachin, who passed away in November.

“We know that if we have a government shutdown, it is at the feet of House Republicans, particularly Speaker McCarthy, and we’re going to make sure that the voters know that. In 2013, the voters at the doors before Election Day were telling candidates that they were upset about the government shutdown. They blamed Republicans then, and they’re gonna blame Republicans now,” McClellan said.

McClellan also highlighted the stakes of the election when it comes to abortion rights, voting rights and climate change.

“Earlier this January, when I was still in the State Senate, we saw Republican bills to ban abortion, to roll back progress on voting rights and on addressing climate change. They have shown us their extreme agenda,” McClellan said. “Poll after poll after poll has shown the overwhelming majority of Virginians either want our abortion laws to stay where they are or be less restrictive. We have made clear that abortion is on the ballot, and our status as a safe haven in the South is on the ballot. We are seeing excitement to prevent that ban from happening, and to keep the Senate blue, and take back the House.”