VIRGINIA – With  a billboard truck highlighting the GOP primary for Governor’s “race to the right”  circling the Virginia Department of Elections, new reports are detailing Winsome Earle-Sears’ flailing campaign. This came as statewide candidates submitted their petitions to get on the ballot.

Yesterday, Sears also tried to hide the number of signatures she collected with a post-it (suggesting she gathered less than she wanted). 

What Virginians Are Reading: 

The Virginia Mercury: Va.’s Democratic Party reminds voters of Republicans’ three-way primary 

• [...] The Democratic Party of Virginia is reminding voters that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, once the Republican heir apparent, now has to face challengers in a primary.

• In recent media interviews, LaRock and Chase have accused Earle-Sears of being a divider, not a uniter, of Republicans. Conservative radio host John Fredericks, where much of the Chase and LaRock discourse has recently played out, has also previously critiqued Earle-Sears [...]

Washington Examiner: Winsome Earle-Sears earns spot on Virginia gubernatorial ballot amid struggles

• Buckingham thought she was voting for Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears but told the Washington Examiner she’s not sure now. The Republican front-runner’s message has become muddled in recent weeks, and Buckingham isn’t certain what the lieutenant governor stands for anymore. 

• Earle-Sears [...] was on her way to winning her party’s nomination when her momentum was blunted by two mega-MAGA candidates, former Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase and former Republican state Del. Dave LaRock, jumping into the race. Earle-Sears was already eyed with mistrust by MAGA members over comments she made in 2022 about how the Republican Party should move on from Trump. The president, in turn, referred to her as a “phony.” 

• The Democratic Party of Virginia hired a mobile billboard truck that spent the day circling the Virginia Department of Elections. The billboard said, “The GOP Nominee for Governor will be Chaotic. Extreme. Bad for Virginia.” The sign also had gigantic pictures of Chase, LaRock, and Earle-Sears on it.

WSHV ABC 3: GOP primary getting crowded with Dave LaRock and Amanda Chase challenging Sears for the nomination 

• But the Republican primary is getting crowded with former State Delegate Dave LaRock and former State Senator Amanda Chase, who once branded herself  “Trump in heels,” challenging Earl Sears for the nomination.

###