We are long overdue for an update on the gubernatorial race in Virginia, where Republican Winsome Sears, the commonwealth's current lieutenant governor, is taking on Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who served from 2019 to 2024 in the U.S. House of Representatives, so let's get down to it.
As a reminder, the current Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, cannot run for consecutive terms, so he's not on the ballot this year. And Virginia is one of two states, the other being New Jersey, that have off-year elections. It's not the most high-stakes of election cycles, but the results certainly could provide clues about how each party will fare in next year's critical midterms.
MORE: The Virginia Governor's Race Is Going to Be Tough for the GOP
I wrote a few months back about how the Virginia GOP's statewide ticket got off to a rocky start after reports emerged that Youngkin wanted John Reid, the lieutenant governor nominee (who happens to be gay), to withdraw from the race over some questionable social media content. Reid denied the content was his and has weathered that storm just fine. So, the the November ticket is set:
Despite the initial strife, the three candidates appeared together earlier this month at a rally in Northern Virginia—traditionally an electoral weak spot for the GOP due to the large number of federal workers who live there—in a show of unity. And a united front is something they're going to need, based off the results of a recent Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) poll showing the entire ticket running behind their Democrat counterparts.
On the heels of these polling numbers, the Sears campaign seems to be undergoing a hard reboot, with both the campaign manager and political director leaving for different roles, one moving to a new role within the campaign and the other leaving the campaign altogether.
The Sears campaign confirmed the reboot during a Thursday afternoon "state of the race" call with media. Sears' general consultant, Mark Harris, said that Will Archer, the former campaign manager, had transitioned to a role working with coalitions in Northern Virginia, while political director Richard Wagner has moved on to another campaign. Harris, a veteran of Dave McCormick's successful senatorial race in 2024, was optimistic that things were moving in the right direction and noted the campaign has spent less than 5% of its media budget so far. Meaning: Virginia will be hearing a lot more from Winsome Sears very soon.
Harris also cautioned against thinking the Virginia governor's race is a "fait accompli," stating that Sears is polling ahead of where Youngkin was at this point in the race four years ago. The path to victory, said Harris, hinges on the fact that the majority of voters think state is headed in right direction, as proven by Youngkin's strong approval rating in that VCU poll.
For now, it looks like the campaign will focus on jobs. Interestingly, Harris noted that Sears's approval rating has gone up since DOGE became a thing; the thinking was that the shrinking federal workforce would be a big negative for Sears, but that apparently is not the case. This is good news.
Our friends at EyesOver, a group that tracks voter sentiment, has identified another huge issue for Republicans: the border. Spanberger was a reliable rubber stamp for Joe Biden while he occupied the White House and she was down Pennsylvania Avenue at the Capitol, so she is part-owner of the current illegal immigration/deportation mess. Sears needs to make her own it.
As for who might take over as the new Sears campaign manager, Harris did not provide any clues. It's complete hearsay at this point, but there have been some suggestions by "in the know" social media accounts that Chris LaCivita, Virginia resident and co-campaign manager of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, would be the perfect person to slot into that role. Stay tuned for more on that.
This election cycle is just getting started, and RedState will be there every step of the way.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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