Virginia Mercury: Financial disclosure gaps, questionable gifts cloud Earle-Sears’ bid for governor
 
Alex Keena, Political Ethics Expert: “To me, this raises serious concerns about her ability to govern lawfully and ethically and highlights obvious conflicts of interest.”

VIRGINIA – New reporting from the Virginia Mercury details Winsome Earle-Sears’ “troubling pattern of secrecy” and ethics violations including undisclosed trips, flights, and $12,000 in gifts. Sears’ failure to disclose violates Virginia’s ethics law, and political ethics expert Alex Keena says it “raises serious concerns about [Sears’] ability to govern lawfully and ethically and highlights obvious conflicts of interest” and it “raises legitimate questions about her capacity to serve with integrity as governor.” 
 
Keena points out that this  “ pattern of not disclosing these obvious conflicts of interest is indicative of a disregard of the law and implies she had something to hide.” 
 
Sears has previously come under fire for appearing to have failed to disclose at least two free private plane flights from a donor “whose business was regulated by the state” and failing to disclose – as required by ethics law – gifted trips valued at more than $15,780. When asked about the trips, "Earle-Sears’ office did not explain the discrepancy or why the trips had not been reported in her initial February filing."
 
Virginia Mercury: Financial disclosure gaps, questionable gifts cloud Earle-Sears’ bid for governor

• Virginia’s Republican nominee omitted high-value gifts and donor-funded travel from ethics filings, part of what experts call a troubling pattern of secrecy and self-policing failure.
• Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears built her political brand on transparency and accountability. But a closer look at her public filings reveals a pattern of omissions and inconsistencies in her financial disclosures — including a $12,000 “gift” far above the state’s legal limit and multiple undisclosed trips funded by outside organizations.
• The records show that Earle-Sears, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2022, repeatedly failed to disclose gifts and travel benefits as required under state law, and in several instances amended her filings only after watchdogs or reporters raised questions.
• “These aren’t minor oversights,” said Alex Keena, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies political ethics and campaign finance. “To me, this raises serious concerns about her ability to govern lawfully and ethically and highlights obvious conflicts of interest.”
• The Mercury sent Earle-Sears’ campaign a detailed list of questions regarding her financial disclosures, including specific inquiries about her reporting of gifts, travel and amendments. The campaign did not respond to several emails before publication.
• One of the most striking irregularities in Earle-Sears’ filings dates back to June 2021, when she reported receiving a $12,000 “gift” from Black Americans to Reelect the President — a pro-Trump organization for which she served as national chair. The disclosure appears in her 2021 SOEI filing, but she did not check any box to claim an exemption from Virginia’s $100 gift cap.
• According to state law, public officials may only accept gifts exceeding $100 if they fall into narrow categories, such as attendance at a “widely attended event,” a gift from a personal friend, or a token of appreciation from a foreign dignitary. The law explicitly defines these exceptions under the code. 
• The dual reporting — as both a “gift” and as payments for work — blurs the line between compensation and gratuity. If the $12,000 was payment for her services, it should have been declared as income. If it was indeed a gift, it far exceeded the state’s allowable threshold.
• “On the one hand, the ‘gifts’ she has received, such as foreign travel paid by lobbyists and donors or direct cash payments received from partisan groups, provide a window into who she is serving and whose interests she will prioritize in office,” Keena said. 
• “On the other hand, a pattern of not disclosing these obvious conflicts of interest is indicative of a disregard of the law and implies she had something to hide.”
• Between 2021 and 2023, Earle-Sears attended and spoke at multiple events hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative nonprofit organization known for promoting model legislation on behalf of corporate members and Republican state lawmakers.
• Despite these high-profile appearances, none of the events — nor any related travel or lodging — appear on her state financial disclosures. 
• Her 2022, 2023, and 2024 SOEIs each include a section requiring the filer to list “any lodging, transportation, money, or other thing of value” exceeding $100 received in their official capacity. Each year, Earle-Sears either checked “No” or reported nothing in that section.
• That omission matters, because ALEC routinely covers travel and lodging expenses for elected officials. The group’s funding structure has long drawn criticism for creating an opaque pipeline between corporate donors and state legislators.
• The unreported ALEC travel and the $12,000 gift fit a larger pattern of incomplete or revised disclosures during  Earle-Sears’ time as lieutenant governor.
• In February 2025,  Earle-Sears filed her annual Statement of Economic Interests and certified that she had received no gifts or travel exceeding $100 in the previous year. 
• But three months later, following a FOIA request by Democratic activist Josh Stanfield that revealed her participation in a 2024 trip to Israel funded by the Combat Antisemitism Movement,  Earle-Sears filed an amended report.
• Earle-Sears’ office did not explain the discrepancy or why the trips had not been reported in her initial February filing.
• Earle-Sears’ disclosure history has drawn additional scrutiny since the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this summer that her April 2023 travel between Winchester and Abingdon matched the flight path of a private plane owned by Gary Duncan, a car dealer and campaign donor whose business is regulated by the state.
• [...] Her campaign finance reports and ethics filings contain no record of that flight or any payment for private air travel.
• Asked about the flight more than two years later,  Earle-Sears’ communications director told the newspaper, “We’re still trying to figure it out.”
• Under Virginia law, a public official who knowingly files a false or incomplete Statement of Economic Interests is guilty of a Class 5 felony. The statute requires filers to sign an affirmation certifying their report is “full, true, and correct to the best of [their] knowledge.”
• So far, neither Earle-Sears nor her campaign has addressed whether she reimbursed the donor, received the flight as a gift, or plans to amend her filings.
• “To me, this raises legitimate questions about her capacity to serve with integrity as governor,” Keena added.
• Earle-Sears’ ethics issues extend beyond the headline-grabbing flights and trips. 
• Between 2011 and 2021, she owned Shenandoah Appliance, Plumbing and Electric, a Winchester-based business she purchased from its founder, Dave Brown, who told the Winchester Star that he sold it to her because she would continue its “Christian mission.” 
• Earle-Sears disclosed the business on her 2012, 2013, and 2014 financial statements but failed to list it as a principal business activity in 2015, even though she continued to own it.
• That inconsistency — coupled with her undisclosed ALEC trips, amended filings, and the unexplained $12,000 payment — suggests a recurring pattern of incomplete or misleading financial transparency.
• The revelations come as Earle-Sears is mounting a high-profile campaign for governor, positioning herself as a conservative reformer who has pledged, along with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, to “restore trust in government.”
• But experts say her disclosure record tells a more complicated story.

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