{"id":2593659,"date":"2026-04-22T08:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:43:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:43:03","slug":"republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Stalling On SAVE Act Gave Virginians No Reason To Vote For Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2593659&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In this Federalist column by Breccan F. Thies,the author argues that establishment Republicans bear blame for Democrats\u2019 advantage in Virginia by failing to advance <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >basic election integrity reforms<\/a>,notably the SAVE America Act. He contends that Republicans on Capitol Hill are engaging in \u201cfailure theater\u201d by delaying a real path to reform, while calls from Trump and others to end the filibuster highlight the stakes of passing the act. The piece contrasts Virginia Democrats\u2019 effective use of power to reshape the political landscape with Republicans\u2019 perceived inaction, suggesting the GOP has not given voters a compelling reason to support them in the upcoming elections. Thies references voting data to illustrate how anti-gerrymandering efforts narrowly failed to prevent a favorable shift for Democrats, and he notes the broader implications for Republican representation in Congress. the central message is that Republicans must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-poll-predicts-disaster-for-democrats-a-week-before-midterms\/\" title=\"New Poll Predicts Disaster For ... A Week Before Midterms\">earn voters\u2019 support<\/a> through concrete achievements rather than assuming it, or risk further losses in November.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Breccan F. Thies \/ The Federalist       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/22\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Republicans%20Stalling%20On%20SAVE%20Act%20Gave%20Virginia%20Voters%20No%20Reason%20To%20Turn%20Out%20For%20Them&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/22\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Republicans%20Stalling%20On%20SAVE%20Act%20Gave%20Virginia%20Voters%20No%20Reason%20To%20Turn%20Out%20For%20Them&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/22\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/22\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Republicans%20Stalling%20On%20SAVE%20Act%20Gave%20Virginia%20Voters%20No%20Reason%20To%20Turn%20Out%20For%20Them&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/22\/republicans-stalling-on-save-act-gave-virginia-voters-no-reason-to-turn-out-for-them\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Establishment Republicans are to blame for allowing Democrats to gerrymander Virginia for several reasons, but one of the most glaring is that they cannot even pass the most basic election integrity reforms in the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/va-republicans-gop-fight-dems-gerrymander-at-the-ballot-not-just-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">doing<\/a> next to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/31\/virginia-redistricting-battle-will-test-republicans-post-2024-gotv-operation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nothing<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/facing-questions-about-anti-gerrymander-gotv-operation-va-gop-expresses-confidence-in-dems-obama-ads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stop<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/09\/analysis-more-than-90-percent-of-funds-backing-dems-gerrymandering-scheme-come-from-outside-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gerrymander<\/a> in the first place, Republicans on Capitol Hill are also giving Americans no reason to give them their vote by refusing to use the governing trifecta voters gave them in 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-636727373\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., continues a meaningless attempt at &ldquo;passing&rdquo; the bill (<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/25\/elon-musk-its-time-to-use-the-talking-filibuster-to-pass-the-save-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failure theater<\/a>), which simply requires voter ID at the ballot box and proof of citizenship for voter registration. Multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/10\/gop-senators-nuke-the-filibuster-pass-the-save-america-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">senators<\/a> and President Donald Trump have called for Thune to nuke the filibuster to pass it, so that they can deliver at least something to get voters excited about the midterms.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Republicans should TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and VOTE!&rdquo; Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TrumpDailyPosts\/status\/2037613694256136213?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald ...\">social media<\/a>. &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t they had enough of this nonsense from the Radical Left Lunatics that are looking to destroy our Country?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Thus far, the calls have been met with crickets, and the SAVE America Act is stuck in limbo.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Democrats, meanwhile, just put on a masterclass in what to do with power when you take it. Virginia had an entirely Republican leadership in the executive branch four months ago, and in no time at all, Democrats whipped their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-dem-recruit-for-missouri-senate-bows-out\/\" title=\"Top Dem Recruit for Missouri Senate Bows Out\">national party leaders<\/a> and fundraisers in gear and swamped an election that will likely determine if Republicans can keep the U.S. House in November.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, Republicans have 217 House members and an independent who caucuses with them, making up the bare 218-person majority. After some resignations, Democrats have 213. Democrats just effectively stole four more seats in the House.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans should be taking notes.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican Party seems to expect voters to show up to vote for them automatically, while giving them nothing to actually earn their vote. It is not the voter&rsquo;s job to prop up a party that hates them.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans narrowly lost the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-democrats-gerrymander-their-way-to-smaller-midterm-losses\/\" title=\"Can ... ... Their Way to Smaller Midterm Losses?\">gerrymandering battle<\/a>, giving Democrats a probable 10-1 delegation majority, but it was only that narrow because the anti-gerrymander campaign was only able to replicate the dismally low performance of Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Sears from 2025, and lots of Democrats did not even show up.<\/p>\n<p>According to the unofficial numbers from the Virginia Public Access Project, the anti-gerrymander &ldquo;no&rdquo; campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpap.org\/electionresults\/20260421\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">garnered<\/a> around 1,480,371 votes. Sears in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpap.org\/offices\/governor\/elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2025<\/a> got 1,449,586.<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;yes&rdquo; campaign meanwhile won with 1,566,501 votes, while now-Gov. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., got 1,976,857 votes &mdash; about 400,000 more.<\/p>\n<p>To put that into perspective, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin got 1,663,596 in the 2021 election. Republicans knew the votes were there, but had nothing to show voters to gain their trust.<\/p>\n<p>Now, 51 percent of voters in Virginia can take away nearly all the representation of 49 percent of voters &mdash; and Trump is that much closer to a lame duck term <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/how-trump-can-turn-iran-critiques-into-midterm-momentum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filled with<\/a> investigations, subpoenas, and impeachments.<\/p>\n<p>If Republicans want any chance of winning in November, they are going to have to prove they are worth voting for.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2026 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gerrymandering\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">gerrymandering<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Thune<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/midterms\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Midterms<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-america-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE America Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Virginia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/winsome-sears\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Winsome Sears<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP establishment blocks basic VA election reform<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2593660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_4545-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6571,6203,5894,34333,5468],"class_list":["post-2593659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-elections","tag-gop","tag-politics","tag-save-act","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_4545-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2593659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2593663,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593659\/revisions\/2593663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2593660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2593659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2593659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2593659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}