Virginia’s Republican nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, said her Democratic opponent, Abigail Spanberger, needs to put her money where her mouth is when it comes to standing up for federal workers.

Earle-Sears told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli on Friday that the government shutdown affecting federal employees across the state, and particularly in Northern Virginia, is not about politics, but leadership.

It comes just a couple days after WTOP spoke with Spanberger, who said Earle-Sears should be focused on standing up for Virginia jobs as lieutenant governor, instead of blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

Listen to Earle-Sears’ full conversation and read the transcript below.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.