It would be fascinating to know the backstory on what exactly happened here, as Donald Trump’s former Virginia campaign chair, MAGA radio host John Fredericks, this morning did a sudden “180” on Winsome Sears’ candidacy for governor of Virginia. See the video, below (the part on Spanberger and Sears starts about 2 hours, 5 minutes in), and check out Fredericks now claiming he’s 100% behind Sears – and thinks she’s going to win! – after blasting Sears for two years as a “Never Trumper”/Trump hater who was 100% guaranteed to get “wiped out” by Abigail Spanberger “and take 5-6 House [of Delegates] seats down.”
The reasoning for the abrupt shift? Supposedly, that over the past weekend, Fredericks watched Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Abigail Spanberger “running around defending corruption” (huh? no clue what this is in reference to)…I just couldn’t believe that, and I said to myself, Winsome Sears is going to win this thing.” Also, supposedly, Spanberger is becoming “unglued” and “there’s two choices – this is binary: Winsome Sears or Abigail Spanberger, the ‘deep stater’, CIA, Post Office – how efficient is the Post Office?” Alrighty…
By the way, see below for a few links to remind everyone of where John Fredericks was on Winsome Sears – and some of the reason why – the past couple years. And, again – no, nothing substantively changed over the weekend about any of this…
- Republican radio guy doesn’t like the party’s presumptive Black nominee for governor (“Winsome Sears, a lot of issues with MAGA, kind of a Never Trumper. Now, she tried to do a turnaround, nobody really believes her. So, we’ll see how that goes. But not, not the, not the strongest candidate that Republicans could put up, by any means, but we’ll see what happens anyway”)
- Video: In Interview with 2025 VA GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate Pat Herrity, Former Virginia Trump Campaign Chair John Fredericks Says Winsome Sears an “incredibly weak candidate,” VA GOP “looking at a potential wipeout” with Sears at Top of Ticket
- Video: VA Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Formerly a HUGE Trump Supporter, Now Says “Enough Is Enough”; Trump Spokesperson Warns “There Will Be a Reckoning”
- Donald Trump Says He’s “Never felt good about Winsome Sears” (Who Used to Chair “Black Americans Making America First”), Calls Her “Phony”
- Audio: Virginia LG Winsome Sears, Who Was a HUGE Trump Supporter, Now Says “He bailed on US”; “I think it’s YOU who’s sanctimonious”; “I didn’t join the Trump Party, I joined the REPUBLICAN Party!” (Sears: Trump “called [Elaine Chao]…Coco Chow Chow something. C’mon man, you know, you can’t do that!”)
As for the polling on this race, see here (and note that “co/efficient” is a Republican outfit, pro-Trump and pro-Youngkin…), which overall shows Spanberger with a lead (on average) of several points. Of course, it’s VERY early and a LOT (including Trump’s approval rating, presumably) can/will likely change by the fall, but that’s where we’re at now…
The John Fredericks Show [Live Radio & TV Show] February 12, 2025 https://t.co/gFUH91hRb5
— John Fredericks (@jfradioshow) February 12, 2025
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