Picking up another Virginia House of Delegates seat just got easier (boldface mine):

Chris Stone, the Republican challenging Del. Michelle Maldonado (D) in the House of Delegates’ 20th District, has pulled out of the race. Stone made the announcement Monday, saying he has taken a job out of state and will be moving his family from the area.

Stone, 45, said he lost his government contracting job abruptly in July and had been hoping to find another position in the Washington, D.C. area. But so far, he has not been able to do so.

“I pressed ahead with the campaign, expecting it to be a short-term issue,” Stone said in an email to the Prince William Times. “But now that our family budget is tight due to no income, I have to do what’s best for my family and take the job I’m offered.”

The unemployment rate in Northern Virginia has been rising in recent months due to federal budget tightening by the Trump administration.

As of July 2025, Prince William County’s unemployment rate was 3.7%, the highest its been since August 2021, according to the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.

This was a district that voted for Harris 55-45, so it likely wasn’t that competitive, but you can’t win if you don’t buy a ticket!

More importantly, this highlights how important government spending is to the economy: even Republicans profit from it, not just ‘the DEI people.’

And we haven’t even reached the part where the economy really goes to shit yet either.