RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Does the latest jobs report spell trouble for Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in the Virginia governor’s race?

“It’s absolutely true that voters will blame the party in power for the economy, whether or not it’s fair to,” Randolph-Macon Political Science Professor Rich Meagher told 8News.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs in August, and the nation’s unemployment rate grew to 4.3% -- its highest level since 2021.

The report comes as Virginia has seen a steady rise in its unemployment rate from 2.9% December 2024 to 3.6% as of Sept. 5.

“Everything that Winsome Earle-Sears does this year is gonna be harder," Meagher said. "Every move that she makes, every ad that she tries to craft, every message she tries to put out there,

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