The constituents in the districts of Forbes, Wittman, Rigell and Wolf rely on federal jobs. | AP Photos Shutdown puts Va. GOP in vise

The government shutdown has put House Republicans from Virginia in an awkward spot, pulled in different directions by conservatives in their own party and constituents back home.

Caught in the tug of war, Republicans in the Old Dominion almost certainly will play a role in any agreement to end the shutdown, which is wreaking havoc on their state already squeezed by sequestration.


At least two of the state’s House Republicans are urging their conservative colleagues to back off demands that have led to a government shutdown, fearing their defense-heavy districts could pay a hefty price for the gridlock in Washington. Others are pushing — more subtly — for a swift end to the crisis.

( POLITICO's full government shutdown coverage)

Virginia was the No. 1 recipient of federal contracts during the last fiscal year, which ended Monday, bringing in more than $38 billion — beating out much larger states, like California and Texas, according to government figures that are likely to increase as contracts from the last fiscal year are processed.

At least $21 billion of Virginia’s contracts were from a single agency: the Defense Department.

A number of top military contractors — Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Booz Allen Hamilton — are headquartered in Northern Virginia. The Pentagon, with its massive civilian workforce, is located in Arlington. And aircraft carriers are built and based in Hampton Roads.

Simply put, the state is unique in its level of dependence on the federal government, especially the Defense Department, for jobs and economic growth. And it has much to lose from any disruption in government services with tens of thousands of residents furloughed with the possibility of no pay until the shutdown ends, if then.

( WATCH: Key moments leading to shutdown deadline)

So much of the state’s congressional delegation — two Democratic senators, three Democratic congressmen and eight Republican congressmen — is moving quickly to distance itself from the crisis.

Reps. Frank Wolf of Northern Virginia and Scott Rigell of Virginia Beach are urging their fellow Republicans to give up their hard-line stance against Obamacare and pass a “clean” continuing resolution to fund the government, one stripped of provisions delaying the health care law.

Rep. Rob Wittman of Hampton Roads has said he “opposes the government shutdown” and in a letter to a constituent indicated he’d support a clean spending bill, according to The Huffington Post.

( PHOTOS: D.C. closes up shop)

Rep. Randy Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee and a top advocate for Navy shipbuilding, whose district also includes parts of Hampton Roads, blamed the shutdown on “poor play” from Democrats and Republicans alike — but stopped short of calling on conservatives to abandon their demands.

“The congressman supports a short-term CR that will restore full government operations and relieve the stress on furloughed workers,” said Forbes spokesman Alex Gray. “This will leave time for the two sides to negotiate a longer-term and more comprehensive agreement.”

A glaring exception is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who’s been a top advocate for extracting concessions from the White House on Obamacare as part of any bill to fund the government.

( WATCH - Debt ceiling showdown: By the numbers)

And his stance makes sense in parochial terms: The Republican congressman, whose district includes wealthy suburbs outside Richmond and stretches north to Page County, is among the members of the Virginia delegation with the smallest federal presence back home. His congressional district brought in about $243 million in federal contracts last fiscal year — second to last in a state where the district average was $3.5 billion.

Statewide, the government shutdown is also looming over the governor’s race between Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Democratic businessman Terry McAuliffe, with Cuccinelli seeking distance from the crisis in Washington and McAuliffe trying to tie him to it.

On Sunday, McAuliffe joined two Virginia congressmen — Democrats Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly — to call on Cuccinelli to condemn conservatives in his own party for “holding the federal budget hostage,” as POLITICO reported.

( PHOTOS: Terry McAuliffe’s career)

Instead, Cuccinelli blamed Congress as a whole — and the president.

“I am very disappointed that President [Barack] Obama and both parties in Congress proved unable to work together to prevent an unacceptable outcome for Virginia: a shutdown of the federal government,” Cuccinelli said in a statement on Tuesday, noting that nearly 175,000 Virginians work for the federal government.

And Virginia’s House Republicans are sure to keep echoing that sentiment.

“The shutdown is hurting my district,” Rigell said in a statement, “including the military and the hardworking men and women who have been furloughed due to the defense sequester.”

( PHOTOS: Ken Cuccinelli’s career)

“Republicans fought the good fight,” he said. “The fight continues but is not advanced by a government shutdown that damages our economy and harms our military.”

Jonathan Topaz contributed to this report.