Speaking to former Trump Virginia campaign chair John Fredericks this morning, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears had a LOT to say about her two Republican opponents – former State Senator Amanda Chase and former Del. Dave LaRock – for the 2025 gubernatorial nomination. See below for video and highlights.
First, Earle-Sears said that “what they’re doing is they’re really facing forcing us to waste precious resources, because you know we have to raise the money to be in a primary and when we could be using that money against Abigail Spanberger.” Earle-Sears added:
“We don’t have time to play with Virginia’s lives. If you can’t win, then what are we doing here? And they can’t win because as you know, Virginia is a blue state – it’s not a purple state, it’s a blue state and that means we have to get the base and we also have to get…commonsense independents and common sense Democrats who believe that we do have a message that will build Virginia for them…that’s all I have to say, and I’m the candidate who can do that.”
Of course, Sears is unlikely to get basically any Democratic votes in November, and probably will lose the independent vote pretty handily, but we’ll see. Also, interesting that she says Virginia’s a blue state, something that even we here at Blue Virginia don’t believe (in fact, Virginia can be a “purple” or “blue” state, or even a light-“red” state, depending on WHO SHOWS UP to vote in a particular election)…
Next, Earle-Sears says:
“I’m the only one out of the three of them who has run for a statewide office and has won – that is important, John; if you can’t win and especially if you can’t win in November, you know Jesse Jackson told us to keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is November…”
Interesting to hear Earle-Sears quoting Jesse Jackson, but she’s right on both counts: 1) neither Chase nor LaRock have ever won statewide, and in fact both were defeated in State Senate contests; 2) a candidate definitely DOES have to keep their eyes on the prize, specifically on the general election in November (although first they have to win their party’s nomination, and that can get nasty, divisive, expensive, etc., but can also help a candidate hone their campaigns, get their message out, etc.).
Finally, Earle-Sears shares her thoughts on Dave LaRock and Amanda Chase:
“When it comes to LaRock, he’s bitter against me because when he was running for that Senate District you spoke about, he wanted my endorsement. You see how they are? He wanted my endorsement and I said no, I’m not getting involved in this primary. And he said, you know, I helped you. And the fact of the matter is I had so many people when I was writing for lieutenant governor in that same race who helped me, I can’t choose one over the other – they all helped me. And so because I wouldn’t endorse, him he was extremely bitter. But you know, the other people weren’t bitter. And he told lies that I supported him for the race…You know, you’ve got to have better character than that, and now he’s running for governor.
And then with Amanda Chase, well you know, Amanda’s Amanda. And every time I turned around she wanted a photo with me. Well if you don’t like me, why do you want to keep having photos with me? And you know, I took the photos with her, why not? You know, I’m bigger than that. But folks, let’s get a grip, this is about the future of Virginia, we don’t have time to hold grudges against each other, we need to come together and get ourselves in shape so that we can win in November, that’s what this is about…”
Yeah, well, good luck with that with people like Chase and LaRock in the picture – looks like it’s going to be a looong four months for Earle-Sears until the June GOP primary! (Also note: hanging out there is Donald Trump, specifically whether he will endorse one of the three Republican candidates for governor, and whether he ends up forgiving Earle-Sears for slamming him back in late 2022).
From DPVA:
NEW: As Donald Trump Attacks Virginia Jobs, Winsome Earle-Sears Promises to Help Him “Get the Job Done”
VIRGINIA – As Donald Trump ramps up his attacks on Virginia jobs, in a new interview with former Trump Campaign Co-Chair John Fredericks, Winsome Earle-Sears promises she’ll work with Trump to “get the job done.” Sears has repeatedly supported Trump’s attacks on Virginia jobs instead of fighting for Virginians. The few resources she’s offered to help Virginians ended up being broken links that led to “404 Page Not Found” website errors.
LISTEN HERE:
- Winsome Earle-Sears: And what they’re going to say is, well, you see what’s happening in Virginia and etc. Trump, Trump, Trump. Well, again, [Trump] needs a partner who will work with him to get the job done.
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