Josh Gordon, policy director at The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan organization seeking balanced federal budgets, said Radtke is leveling "kind of an absurd criticism."

"I think if you were going to criticize someone for earmarks, the more appropriate measure would be the amount of earmarks the senator requested for Virginia, and how many he got," Gordon said. "You can't just not fund the government because one of the 525 representatives (in Congress) has a $1,000 check going to somewhere in his district."