Winsome Sears interview: 'The people of Virginia just want common sense'

Winsome Earle-Sears will face Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the Virginia gubernatorial election. The incumbent Republican lieutenant governor is running as the candidate of continuity, arguing that a Democratic victory would reverse progress and burden Virginians with higher taxes, more regulations, and reduced freedom in education.

With the November 4 election fast approaching, Earle-Sears spoke with VOZ in an interview where she highlighted her partnership with Governor Glenn Youngkin, positioning herself as the best choice to lead Virginia for years to come.

She specifically highlighted three core pillars of her leadership: educational freedom, increased public safety, and creating a business-friendly environment. She described her platform as one rooted in "common sense." 

"Voters love what they see"

It didn’t take long for her to reflect on her father, who came to the United States with only $1.75. Today, she views his story as one that can inspire others: "So, you can look at life as something that's negative happening, or you can say, yes, that's happening, but this is the only life I have, and I'm going to find the good in it. And that's what we have to do, even in the good times, because bad things will happen to you in the good times, and you have to find a way to motivate yourself to continue."

"Opportunity. Just opportunity, period. Not putting people in boxes and by race and gender and whatever else, but just opportunity for all, to lift all boats. So, I've had a long, varied life, and now I'm running for governor. And we're going to do it again because people just want common sense," she added.

With the campaign already underway, she assured that voters are highly satisfied with the Youngkin-Sears administration, noting that they successfully turned around a challenging situation after two Democratic terms, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.

"People weren't working, the businesses were closed, and the schools were closed, our houses of worship were closed. Everything was closed in Virginia. In other states, though, you could see we did not have to close down in the way that we did. One man made the decision to close us down, and that was the former Democratic governor. And so it mattered who was the governor," Sears recalled.

Education key in Sears' platform

Education was arguably the defining issue of the 2021 election, helping secure victories for Youngkin as governor, Jason Miyares as attorney general, and, of course, Sears as lieutenant governor."

Four years later, Sears passionately defended her approach to education, vowing continued progress and advocating for a majority in the state Legislature. She specifically highlighted initiatives such as school openness, a push for charter and laboratory schools, an 18% increase in the budget for teachers' salaries, multimillion-dollar investments in education, and strengthening the role of parents in their children's education.

However, she expressed regret over not being able to eliminate "zip codes," which determine the public schools children can attend. "I pushed for it every year, but you can't get it done without cooperation," she said, referring to Democrats.

Spanberger "claims to be a moderate, but she's not"

Sears also criticized her opponent, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger: "She claims to be a moderate, but she's not. She voted against, well, funding law enforcement, she didn't want them to have the money, and then that meant that we would have even less opportunities to be safe. That doesn't make sense to anyone. And yet, she's CIA. She talks about being CIA, but you know, if you don't have safety and security in your own community, in your classrooms, in your business, at your job, none of this works."

On the risks a Spanberger victory would pose for Virginians, Sears stated that "job creators need to know that there's continuity, that there's stability." "You're not going to get that with Abigail. She will tax you, so your wallet is going to be a problem for you. The education of your children is going to be a problem, and your safety and security is also going to be a problem with her," she added.

"We have to make sure we maintain all the progress we have in Virginia"

Finally, the Virginia lieutenant governor stressed the importance of a Republican win in November to prevent the state from moving backward.

"We, if we want to continue all the good that we're doing here, we're going to need somebody who I believe, I'm just going to say it, has some common sense, has some common sense. ... We're not going to put more regulation on businesses, you got to do this, you got to do this. Businesses will just leave. They'll go to another state. [Spanberger] wants to take even more money out of your pocket to taxes. How much more of the money that I worked so hard for do you deserve? I mean, can you not get along with the money that you already have? Are you using the money that we give you in taxes wisely?" said Sears.

"People understand that we have got to win. We have no other option but to win. And with my win, we will continue, as I said, the forward progress that we've made. They can look at, for example, Maryland, and they can see if there is a Democratic governor, they will take us all the way back. Maryland is right now in debt, and they're raising taxes. ... Forward is the only way, we are not going back," she said.

The full interview with Winsome Sears