Latest news with #WinsomeEarleSears
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Earle-Sears shakes up campaign for Va. governor as fundraising, polls lag
RICHMOND — GOP gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears has asked her campaign manager — a pastor with no political experience — to step away from that role amid calls from some fellow Republicans to shake up a campaign that is lagging in fundraising and polls, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Virginia politicians look outside the state for political punching bags
RICHMOND — Republicans running for statewide office in Virginia have a couple of surefire ways to rile up crowds at campaign stops: mention New York City's mayoral race or Maryland's budget woes. 'New York … has nominated a socialist!' GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears thundered last week at a rally in Vienna, drawing a cascade of boos directed at New York Democrat Zohran Mamdani. 'A socialist!' she repeated, as the jeers grew louder.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia emerges as key bellwether ahead of midterms
Virginia's off-year elections are being viewed by both parties as a key bellwether heading into next year's midterms, as well as a potential indicator for how voters view President Trump. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) will face off to become the first female governor of the state, while Democrats will seek to maintain and grow their majority in the House of Delegates. The races could prove to be a litmus test for the first year of Trump's second administration as Republicans prepare to defend their majorities in Congress next year, especially as Virginia has a tendency to oscillate between the two parties in the race for governor. 'The Democrats want to look at this as a bellwether largely because they think they have an advantage here,' longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth said. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball each rate the gubernatorial contest as 'lean Democratic.' A Roanoke College survey released in May showed Spanberger with a wide 43 percent to 26 percent lead over Earle-Sears, with 28 percent of voters saying they were undecided. However, another May poll released by the business group Virginia FREE showed Spanberger leading by 4 percentage points. Spanberger also holds a fundraising lead over Earle-Sears. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Spanberger raised $6.5 million, while Earle-Sears brought in $3.5 million; Spanberger currently has more than $14 million in the bank, while Earle-Sears has just less than $3 million. Spanberger, a former intelligence officer, has a history as a formidable candidate, having unseated former Rep. Dave Brat (R) in the state's highly competitive 7th Congressional District and gone on to win reelection twice. Additionally, she has touted herself as a moderate Democrat, pointing to her work across the aisle while serving in the House. While Spanberger has touted a number of kitchen table issues including affordability, investing in schools and community safety, she also often points to federal government job cuts made under Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The cuts have had a unique impact on Virginia, given the federal government's close proximity to the state. 'Virginia is home to more than 320,000 federal employees,' Spanberger said in an interview with The Hill. 'I will never miss an opportunity to make sure the president understands that the haphazard DOGE effort has been deeply, deeply detrimental to Virginians, to their families, to our economy, and that the havoc it has wreaked across our commonwealth is so significant.' 'As a former national security professional, I have dire concerns about what the future looks like,' she said, referring to laid-off government employees with 'institutional understanding and historical references.' Earle-Sears, who is originally from Jamaica, has a background as a Marine Corps veteran and business owner. She served in the House of Delegates from 2002-04, ending her tenure when she challenged Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) in the state's 3rd Congressional District in 2004. In 2021, she became Virginia's first female lieutenant governor, winning alongside Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and Attorney General Jason Miyares (R). Earle-Sears has leaned into her work in the Youngkin administration in making her case to the commonwealth's voters, particularly on job creation. '[Voters] all pretty much say they want what we are doing in Virginia to continue, and my opponent's problem is she was never a part of creating this great economy that we have, bringing all these jobs to Virginia,' Earle-Sears told The Hill in an interview. In the wake of the DOGE cuts, Youngkin and Earle-Sears have touted the administration's 'Virginia Has Jobs' initiative, which includes 250,000 open jobs in the state. A 'support resource bundle' would also be available to federal workers looking for work. Democrats have attacked Earle-Sears over her response to the impact of DOGE cuts on the state, however, pointing to remarks she made earlier this year in which she touted the state's jobs initiative and said losing a job is 'not unusual.' 'I have lost a job, and in any room that this has been brought up, I ask the people: 'How many of you have ever lost a job?'' Earle-Sears told The Hill last month, referring to remarks from earlier this year. 'I raised my hand, along with them. And I got to tell you, we don't want people to, of course, not have jobs, and that's why we have been so successful in creating over 270,000 of them.' However, Republicans are still voicing concerns about Earle-Sears's chances in November. Veteran GOP strategist and senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign Chris LaCivita called her staff 'amateurs' in a post on the social platform X in May, while one Virginia Republican strategist called this year's cycle 'a hard hill to climb' for Republicans. 'The money disadvantage is massive, and that's a problem,' the Virginia GOP strategist said. 'That's the challenge beyond structure: the resource piece, and running really good campaigns.' The strategist noted that in addition to touting her work in Youngkin's administration, Earle-Sears could draw on issues that have played well for Republicans nationally. 'There are encouraging signs,' the strategist said. 'Obviously the president's approval rating, stability around the world, stability on trade policy. There are the conditions for the national environment to be solid, and yet still it is a challenging state to compete in simply because of the makeup of the state and, historically, just with the party in power, it makes it difficult to [hold onto the governorship].' During Trump's first administration in 2017, Democrats saw victories in the gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial and state attorney general races. Democrats did not win a majority in the House of Delegates that year, but they narrowed the GOP majority to one seat. Two years later, in 2019, Virginia Democrats gained control of the House of Delegates and the state Senate, giving the party control of both legislative chambers and the governor's mansion for the first time since 1994. In 2021, when former President Biden was in the White House, Republicans hit back in the state's off-year elections, when they won back control of the House of Delegates and Youngkin won the gubernatorial contest. When asked about whether Trump's presence in the White House will impact the gubernatorial race, Earle-Sears said the campaign is about her and Spanberger. 'This race is about Abigail Spanberger and me and the commonsense ideas that I stand for,' Earle-Sears said. 'People can differentiate and make that distinction.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
02-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
‘Don't Maryland my Virginia': Youngkin, 2025 GOP ticket rallies together for first time ahead of key election
TYSONS CORNER, Va. – Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin headlined a major rally Monday for the statewide Republican ticket in the 2025 election, visiting the heavily-Democratic confines of Fairfax County to deliver their message and draw contrasts between themselves and blue states like their trans-Potomac neighbor. Youngkin, his potential successor, GOP nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, lieutenant gubernatorial nominee John Reid, Attorney General Jason Miyares and former FBI Agent Stewart Whitson; the Republican hoping to win a major upset for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly's seat, all spoke to a crowd of more than 500 that packed into the sweltering Vienna fire hall on Monday. "Are you ready to sweep?" Youngkin fired up the crowd, hearkening back multiple times to his own sweep in 2021, when he, Earle-Sears and Miyares all won upset victories against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who was leading the Democratic ticket then. Youngkin said he and the statewide candidates assembled all proved that Virginia could bounce back from the McAuliffe-Northam era, which he characterized as pockmarked by COVID-19 lockdowns, and businesses and families fleeing the state. "The last time the Democrats had full control of the commonwealth of Virginia, they tried to turn her into California. Or as Winsome said, maybe even Maryland," Youngkin said, contrasting the Old Dominion with the Old Line State in terms of taxation, education and business-friendly environs. Youngkin said that since about the end of the administration of Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2014, Virginia progressively sank to the bottom third of the U.S. in job growth, and a decade straight of more people leaving than moving in. "Don't Maryland my Virginia," he said. Across the Potomac, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been widely rumored as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, while Republicans, including predecessor Larry Hogan, have criticized tax hikes and budget woes. Fox News Digital reached out to Moore for a response to Youngkin. Both Youngkin and Earle-Sears had just returned from the Monday ribbon-cutting of the country's now-northernmost Buc-ee's travel center near Harrisonburg, which the duo said proved Virginia is "open for business" and added hundreds of jobs in Rockingham County. That theme carried into Wednesday, as Earle-Sears pledged to build on the past four years of progress and focus on convincing rural communities that Richmond hasn't forgotten them. There were also references made to New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens. Earle-Sears warned that some candidates in Virginia in this year's election are espousing "ideas… that are socialist in nature." Virginia's GOP ticket is notably diverse, with Earle-Sears, Reid – who would be the first gay statewide officeholder – and Miyares, who is of Cuban descent. Outside the fire hall, amid sporadic thundershowers and incredible humidity, a few dozen left-wing demonstrators utilized a megaphone to protest the event, holding signs and banners claiming Republicans are trying to kill Medicaid. Also in attendance was Whitson, who has a major climb to defeat Connolly confidant and Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw. But the ex-G-man was upbeat, saying Democrats who ushered in years of "destructive" policies like DEI and reckless spending have "destroyed our economy," and the folks in the Washington suburbs he hopes to represent are realizing that as well. "It's time for us to have a U.S. congressman in Northern Virginia who actually cares about the people and the issues that matter," he said. Miyares reflected on the changes he's seen under four years of Republican control of the executive branch, quipping that Virginia in 2021 had been "like when you watch those mafia movies and the guy wakes up in the trunk of the Buick and he doesn't know where he's headed, but he knows it's not a good final destination." Reid called Wednesday "commitment day," as he spoke before the assembled GOP ticket. Miyares faces Del. Jerrauld "Jay" Jones, D-Norfolk, Reid faces state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and Earle-Sears faces former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va, in the general election.
CNN
02-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
Youngkin wrote a GOP playbook for winning Virginia. Republicans hope Earle-Sears can follow it
On a Tuesday evening in northern Virginia, Republicans on edge across the state finally got their wish: a campaign event featuring gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, backed by incumbent Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who beat a Democrat four years ago. A racially diverse crowd was packed into a firehouse waving signs that read 'Axe the Tax,' a nod to an Earle-Sears campaign pledge to eliminate the state's tax on car purchases. Youngkin lauded Earle-Sears' biography and work as the state's lieutenant governor. At the end, he appeared on stage with the entire GOP ticket, clapping along to the tune of the classic disco song 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now.' 'We haven't come this far to only go this far,' Earle-Sears told the crowd. But things are much different from four years ago, when Youngkin beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe as a businessman and first-time candidate tapping into voter frustration with the Covid-19 pandemic and the handling of race and diversity in schools. Earle-Sears faces headwinds caused by some of President Donald Trump's policies – and concerns among some in her own party about whether she's running an effective campaign. 'The environment is just different and the things that are outside of a candidate's control are worse for Republicans in 2025 than they were in 2021,' said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia. Earle-Sears is facing Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman who has outraised her so far. Kondik also cited Earle-Sears' lack of personal wealth to self-fund her campaign as Youngkin did and her past comments minimizing the impact of these federal cuts as potential drawbacks. Lining the sidewalk outside of the firehouse Tuesday night were demonstrators calling attention to the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid. The US Senate just hours earlier had passed Trump's far-reaching domestic policy bill that could cause millions of people to lose coverage. 'I cared for a lot of people and now I'm in a situation where I may not have a roof over my head,' said Laura Lynn Clark, a 62-year-old former home care provider of Richmond. Earle-Sears' response to these critics sounded a more sympathetic note than what she previously said about federal workers and suggested a shift in her approach. 'What I love about America, as an immigrant, that people can protest and let their government know how they feel about everything,' she told CNN. 'Whatever comes downs, we're ready. We have the ability. We're going to make sure that people are made whole,' she added. Earle-Sears, 61, was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the United States when she was six. She later served in the U.S. Marine Corps and directed a Salvation Army homeless shelter. Core to Earle-Sears' election argument is that she is part of a winning team that has delivered the past four years in Virginia on everything from pro-business deregulation to reopening schools after the pandemic. In her allies' telling, she would be an extension of the state's prosperity. That's despite Virginia being one of 17 states with separately elected lieutenant governors. 'We have a winner. We have a Marine who knows how to fight, who understands what America is about, because she understands that everything that she values today, everything she thanks an almighty God for, came from this country. Winsome Sears loves America,' Youngkin told the crowd Tuesday night. But Earle-Sears has been intentional about drawing contrasts with Youngkin during her time as his deputy, tacking to the right of him on everything from same-sex marriage to access to abortion. She has also held few public events, particularly compared to Spanberger. Instead, she's mostly gone to private events that have been closed to the media. Some chairs of county parties have publicly questioned whether she's doing enough, particularly in a state that leans Democratic in national elections. Trump lost Virginia by nearly 6 points last November, an improvement from his 10-point defeat in the state four years earlier. 'Every single soul can look and see all the places I have been,' Earle-Sears told CNN in a recent phone interview as she was driving between campaign stops. 'I used to have to drive myself to every place, racking up miles here and there, because I do not get a driver. The governor does. I don't get security. The governor does. And so I've been doing a lot of it myself.' 'I don't know what other people are seeing, but it's going to be all right,' she said. Ken Nunnenkamp, executive director of the Virginia Republican Party, defended Earle-Sears and said it would take time for her to reach all parts of the state. He also argues Earle-Sears' candor would be appreciated by voters. 'Whether or not you agree with Winsome, you sure as heck know where she stands,' he said.
