Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears presides over the Senate. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on Thursday evening officially announced her candidacy for governor of Virginia in the upcoming 2025 election, aiming to become the nation’s first Black female governor. Sears made history in 2022 by becoming the first Black woman in the commonwealth to hold statewide office, and the first woman to attain such a role since Mary Sue Terry’s tenure as attorney general in the 1990s.
“The future, a new chapter, is about to begin,” Earle-Sears said at a rally in Virginia Beach. “Together, we have the power to ensure that our brightest days are ahead of us still. But to make that future a reality, we must come together, it is really that simple. We must stand strong, we must support each other, we must share each other’s values and visions.”
Earle-Sears’s candidacy marks a significant milestone in Virginia’s political landscape. Should she become the Republican nominee, she would likely face U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Prince William, who was the first candidate to announce her bid in November.
Spanberger is the only Democrat currently seeking her party’s nomination, after Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney dropped his bid to instead run for lieutenant governor.
“Earle-Sears announcing her run for governor of Virginia was expected, because the lieutenant governor role is often seen as a stepping stone to the state’s highest office,” said David Richards, a political scientist at the University of Lynchburg. “Glenn Youngkin is a popular governor and so Earle-Sears should try to take advantage of that to go to the next level.”
A trailblazer in Virginia politics, Earle-Sears first made history in 2021 when she was elected as the state’s first Black woman to hold statewide office. Her rise in the GOP has been marked by her strong conservative values, her advocacy for education reform, and her emphasis on public safety — themes that are expected to play a central role in her gubernatorial campaign.
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Earle-Sears, 60, immigrated to the United States at the age of six. She grew up in the Bronx, New York City, and served as an electrician in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1983 until 1986.
She also directed a Salvation Army homeless shelter before launching her career in public service in 2001, when she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 90th District, becoming the first Jamaican-American, female Republican, first female veteran, and first naturalized citizen to serve in the General Assembly.
On her path to seize the Republican nomination for governor Earle-Sears will likely face Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is also speculated to announce his candidacy in the coming weeks.
Another obstacle for Earle-Sears may be her decision in November 2022 to publicly withdraw her support for former President Donald Trump, who at the time was teasing an announcement for a third White House run — a move that might haunt her as the Republican nominee for president has shown little tolerance for disloyalty.
“A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage. And the voters have given us that very clear message,” Earle-Sears said in a TV interview with Fox News at the time.
But on Thursday, Earle-Sears left no doubt about her return into the Make America Great Again fold.
“This is such a great country, God bless America. And folks, first and foremost, in 2024, that means standing with President Trump, it means standing with [Republican nominee] Hung Cao for our Senate, and it means that we must stand very steadfast with our incumbents so they can continue to defend Virginia’s best interests in Congress,” she told her audience.
Some Trump loyalists already pushed back against an Earle-Sears candidacy over her previous remarks about the former president.
“She’s an insufferable, never-Trumper that’s totally myopic and self serving,” conservative talk show host John Fredericks wrote on the social media platform X on Thursday, suggesting that the lieutenant governor’s bid “might as well be paid for and authorized” by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
“Once again, it’s all about Winsome Sears, and it’s all about screwing Trump — because that’s all she does,” Fredericks said.
But Richards, the political scientist, said that it is possible for Earle-Sears to overcome her rocky relationship with Trump and secure her party’s nomination. “She is popular with state Republicans, polling ahead of Miyares in a survey earlier this year. Whether she can replicate Youngkin’s 2021 surprise win statewide remains to be seen.”
Either way, an Earle-Sears v. Spanberger matchup would be historic, Richards said. “Two women running for governor of Virginia, and Earle-Sears would be the first Black woman and, if elected, the first person since the 1700s to be governor not born in the U.S.”
At her rally in Virginia Beach on Thursday, Earle-Sears vowed that she would mount a good fight.
“Winning Virginia is not just possible, it is necessary because the Democrats have had a headstart and they are fighting tooth and nail to win in November. And they want to win in November 2025 as well, but we are not going to let them. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and let’s get to work,” she said.
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