“The Democrats have a significant challenge right now in finding out what the party stands for,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “That may be a debate that continues into the 2028 Democratic nomination contests.”
In addition to bashing MAGA, state Democrats have launched what University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth calls a much more focused, policy-driven response to Trump than Democrats in Congress have so far managed.
“Members of the Congress seem more shell-shocked and slower to engage as a group,” Farnsworth said. “The Democratic caucus in Virginia has shown a much more unified strategy for controlling the narrative. … They’ve given voters a very clear sense of the direction of the commonwealth if Democrats do prevail in November.”
To that end, the Prince William Committee of 100 is hosting a non-partisan panel, “the Domino effects of DOGE,” next week to explore how to mitigate its impact on Prince William. The event will be moderated by Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington.
The event will be held at 6 pm on March 20 at Brittany’s Restaurant and Sports Bar in Woodbridge. Advance registration is required.
With all 100 House of Delegates seats and the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General's offices on the line, University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth said both parties want to make an example out of Virginia ahead of 2026. "The reality is Virginia always has an outsized national profile because we’re the first real leading political indicator for the congressional midterms to come," he said.
Virginia’s major political parties both enter 2025 election with new leadership (WVTF) 
But Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, also sees the surge of Democratic candidates in Virginia’s 2025 elections as part of a broader trend fueled by voter anger and dissatisfaction with the party in power. “Virginia elections are all about angry voters,” Farnsworth said. “The party that loses the White House is energized for elections the following year in a way that the party that won the White House is not so energized. Democrats in 2017 had a recruitment bonanza with many motivated candidates requiring many primaries. It looks like 2025 is also going to be a peak year for Democrats running for office.”
Democrats seize on enthusiasm gap in 2025 Virginia House races (Virginia Mercury) 
“The main thing you want to avoid doing in March is saying things you’ve got to defend in the fall,” said Steve Farnsworth, a political scientist and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.
