Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears filed paperwork to run for governor in 2025.
The Republican submitted a statement of organization with the Virginia Department of Elections. Any individual seeking public office in Virginia must file a statement of organization within 10 days of accepting or spending campaign funds or appointing a campaign treasurer. The paperwork states that a contribution was first accepted, and an expenditure made, on Wednesday.
Then she made her formal public announcement Thursday night in front of at least 200 supporters at Chick’s Oyster Bar restaurant in Virginia Beach, including city Mayor Bobby Dyer.
“With your support we can secure the future of Virginia and make sure that the values that we cherish remain strong for generations to come. So let’s roll up our sleeves. Let’s get to work, let’s get to work, lets get to work!” she told the crowd.
Dyer was among the opening speakers, and he led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“How about this folks? How about we take this November’s election and victory and let’s put a Marine in the Governor’s Mansion next year!” he said.
Earle-Sears was elected lieutenant governor in 2021. She is the first woman to hold the position in Virginia and the first Black woman to hold statewide office.
Earle-Sears is the first Republican to announce a bid, although state Attorney General Jason Miyares is expected to run as well. He released a statement on social media Thursday saying the party should be focused on winning races this year.
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the only declared Democratic candidate so far. She has raised about $7 million as of June 30, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign donations.
Earle-Sears told the story of her father’s immigration from Jamaica in 1963, just days before Martin Luther King Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech.
“It was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, but folks, it is no longer 1963. This is two-zero-two-four,” she said. “Things have changed, have they not? Of course they have, because how else could I be second in command in the former capital of the Confederate states? The Klan is turning over in their grave.”
Earle-Sears served four years in the Marines, working as an electrician. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Old Dominion University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University.
In a Thursday news release, Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker criticized Earle-Sears as a far-right “extremist.”
“If elected governor, she’d unleash her radical agenda: outlawing abortions, rolling back gun safety measures, dismantling LGBTQ+ rights, gutting healthcare for millions, and slashing funding for public schools,” Swecker said.
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
Gavin Stone, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
Photos: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announces run for governor
