This article was reprinted with permission from .听
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears dropped by an American Legion office in Midlothian on Thursday, a stop on her 鈥淥peration Defend and Deliver鈥� campaign event series.
She and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, emphasized their aim to elevate the lieutenant governor to the executive mansion next year and flip the House of Delegates to their party鈥檚 control.
Earle-Sears鈥� speech was partially a victory lap touting Gov. Glenn Youngkin鈥檚 administration and a projected聽for next year that the governor announced Thursday. It was also an echo of Youngkin鈥檚 winning 2021 campaign themes, like parental oversight concerning their children鈥檚 education and support for law enforcement.
鈥淧arents still matter!鈥� she said enthusiastically as the crowd of about 100 cheered.
Spanberger criticism
Earle-Sears lambasted her democratic opponent, former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, and alleged that Spanberger 鈥渧oted to defund the police and end qualified immunity.鈥�
Spanberger 鈥� who 聽in 2020 for using the controversial 鈥渄efund the police鈥� phrasing and said it was partially why her party lost seats in the 2022 elections 鈥� has a background working for the Central Intelligence Agency and routinely expressed support for law enforcement. She also proposed a聽in 2021 to 鈥渟tudy proactive strategies and best practices to ensure the inclusion of community satisfaction and trust in policing performance measurement,鈥� which was never brought up for a vote.
When Earle-Sears noted how Spanberger received a donation from someone the Republican National Committee says is a member of the Communist Party of China, several in the audience gasped.
鈥淎bigail 鈥� give it back!鈥� Earle-Sears said.
The donor, Pin Ni, donated $50,000 to Spanberger鈥檚 campaign. Ni has also given nearly $70,000 to Republicans between the RNC and National Republican Campaign Committee in recent years,聽.
Money matters
Money was another talking point during the Earle-Sears event, framed as both a celebration of Virginia鈥檚 current budget surplus and a call for more campaign cash for Earle-Sears and Republicans running in the House of Delegates.
鈥淚 need your help,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 work on assumptions.鈥�
The candidates鈥� latest聽, released in July, showed Earle-Sears raised $5.9 million from donors in the second quarter of this year and has amassed $11.6 million total since last fall. Spanberger raised $10.7 million over the second quarter and has added $27 million to her campaign coffers in total since November 2023.
Culture war issues in focus
After months of silence about her running mate Republican John Reid 鈥� who was embroiled in a聽聽over sexually explicit photos on a social media site and was asked to drop out of the lieutenant governor race by Youngkin 鈥� Earle-Sears acknowledged him as her would-be successor.
As president of the state Senate, lieutenant governors are responsible to cast tie-breaking votes 鈥� an important responsibility, she stressed.
Earle-Sears used the moment to take a jab at Reid鈥檚 opponent, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, who she critiqued for supporting the term 鈥渂irthing people鈥� in reproductive health legislation. While not as common as cisgender women, nonbinary or transgender people with uteruses have become pregnant and use of the term is meant to be inclusive.
Connecting legislative battles over transgender students鈥� access to bathrooms and sports teams to parental authority within public schools, Earle-Sears also accused members of the Democratic Party of 鈥渆rasing women.鈥�
Earle-Sears wrote that she was聽聽to an in-progress effort to enshrine reproductive rights like abortion, contraception and fertility treatment access in the state鈥檚 constitution when signing the legislation earlier this year.
She also used her tie-breaking power to vote against a聽聽that ultimately advanced due to a re-vote before facing Youngkin鈥檚 veto. Some Republicans聽this summer to tell Earle-Sears they would not vote for her because of their support for reproductive rights.
Promises and proposals
Aside from rallying the crowd to support her party and taking jabs at Democrats, Earle-Sears also laid out goals she would like to achieve if elected governor.
She said she planned to support legislation that would prevent the first $20,000 of law enforcement officers鈥� salaries from being taxed.
鈥淲e need them and we don鈥檛 have enough of them,鈥� she said.
Reiterating an early campaign message from this past winter, Earle-Sears stressed her commitment to protecting Virginia鈥檚 right-to-work law. Right-to-work laws make it unlawful to deny employment based on union membership or refusal to join a union. Earle-Sears had supported a now-failed attempt to聽聽the law earlier this year.
Medicaid pushback
Meanwhile, health care advocates rallied within earshot of Thursday鈥檚 campaign event, calling out Wittman鈥檚 and Earle-Sears鈥� support for the President Donald Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law last month.
A crowd of about 20 protesters gathered in a cul-de-sac outside of the American Legion Thursday. Earle-Sears called their presence 鈥渁 wonderful thing鈥� and said 鈥淲e must ensure that continues in America.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 always fascinating to me that we can speak our minds,鈥� Earle-Sears told her crowd of supporters inside about the protesters outside.
顿别蝉辫颈迟别听, himself included, Wittman voted this summer for the reconciliation bill that contains forthcoming changes to Medicaid and hospital funding mechanisms.听He framed the law that Trump signed on July 4 as a way to ensure Medicaid sticks around for the long haul.
The changes entail additional verification processes for recipients to prove they鈥檙e meeting work or educational requirements that occupy at least 80 hours a month. Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services director Cheryl Roberts told state lawmakers this summer that聽for localities and the Department of Social Services to process.
Advocates, including some gathered outside of the Earle-Sears campaign event, have cautioned that thousands of Virginians could fall through the cracks in the new re-verification process and lose their health care.
Chris Yates, a Bellevue resident who attended the protest, said Virginia鈥檚 low-income or already-struggling populations are going to be impacted by the changes first.
鈥淚t鈥檚 designed that way,鈥� he said.
But Youngkin stressed Thursday morning that Virginians鈥� health care wouldn鈥檛 be impacted just because of the changes, a stance echoed by Earle-Sears and Wittman later in the day.
鈥淐hanges to Medicaid are not 鈥榯aking coverage away from anyone,鈥欌�� Youngkin said聽聽in preparation for next year鈥檚 budget process. 鈥淣o Virginians are losing their Medicaid coverage.鈥�
While the changes won鈥檛 take effect until after next year鈥檚 congressional midterms, Yates has his eye on Wittman and Earle-Sears.
Sean Sublette, a former Richmond Times-Dispatch meteorologist and recently-announced Democratic challenger to Wittman, also attended the rally.
Sublette said he feels like Wittman鈥檚 vote was 鈥渟imply to satisfy Trump and Speaker (Mike) Johnson鈥� and said that he鈥檚 concerned about the potential for hospitals trimming services or closing and patients having to travel further for care.
While Wittman and Sublette each have more than a year to hit the ground for their own campaigns, the current congressman is stumping for Republicans in this year鈥檚 House and gubernatorial elections.
Early voting is set to begin on Sep. 19, Wittman reminded the crowd, and he encouraged Republicans to vote early and tell at least 50 people they know to do the same.
With Democrats running candidates in聽this year, Wittman said 鈥渢hey鈥檙e all-in, we need to be all-in.鈥�
