Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl Sears has announced he will run in 2025 to replace term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin, telling Fox News he wants to build on his Republican colleague's track record of revitalizing the state's economy.
If Earl Sears wins the primary, he could face off against similarly prominent Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia if she wins the Democratic primary.
“We really need to win because the other side is trying to pull all kinds of ploys and a lot of 'gotcha' stuff that's not going to help move Virginia forward,” Earl Sears said Friday.
Sears said Youngkin's term had laid a “great foundation” for a like-minded successor.
Winsome Earl Sears on Supreme Court ruling: “China is not playing 'fool's games' on race”
Former Republican delegate Winsome Earl Sears introduces then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin to congratulate him on his victory in the Virginia lieutenant governor election during an election night party in Chantilly, Virginia, on Nov. 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
“We have to step it up. We have companies that have relocated their headquarters from overseas. We've grown their businesses here. We've been an incubator for businesses,” Earl Sears said on “Fox & Friends.”
“It's all about business, because business makes money and that gives us the quality of life, the schools, the roads, the bridges, all the beautiful things that we love.”
A spokesperson for Youngkin similarly praised Sears, calling him a “loyal partner” over the past four years, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Governor Youngkin is committed to helping Republicans win Virginia in 2024 because this election is about strength and weakness — a strong economy, secure borders and a strong America,” Justin Disigill said Friday.
Former Virginia Democratic Governor Praises Glenn Youngkin
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin delivers the VCU commencement address in Richmond, Virginia, on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Parker Michels Boyce for The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Parker Michels Boyce of The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“The 2025 election will be about continuing the great work of common-sense policies that make Virginia a great place to live, work and raise a family, or returning to the failed extremism of left-wing progressivism.”
Earl Sears, who emigrated from Jamaica as a young woman, would be the first black woman to hold such a position in Richmond.
She is a former Marine and former state representative from Virginia Beach, where Earl Sears noted on Friday that her primary win was a major upset in a Democratic-heavy district.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (center) signs an executive order in the Governor's Conference Room as Lt. Governor Winsome Earl Sears (left), Suzanne Youngkin (second from left), Attorney General Jason Miyares (second from right) and Secretary of State Kay Cole James (right) look on, at the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (Photo by The Associated Press/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“I only had three months to operate and I had no money,” she said.
“If you have the right idea and you know that the voters have given you a mandate to run and move forward, then you just move forward,” she told Fox News Channel.
“There are hostile politicians trying to stop you. [in] They will do so in every way because they think you will win, but the victory belongs to the people.”
