Musk left government. Will Democrats lose their bogeyman?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick applaud for Elon Musk on May 30. (Tom Brenner/For The Washington Post) By Gregory S. Schneider and Dylan Wells

RICHMOND — Virginia has long been the most prominent national testing ground for political rhetoric in odd-year elections, when few other states hold major contests. And Democrats here have targeted Elon Musk and DOGE nonstop ahead of the November elections, capitalizing on the billionaire’s polarizing reputation in fundraising emails, billboards, speeches, and in fliers that deride the “extreme Musk-Trump agenda.”