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Winsome Earle-Sears
REPUBLICAN
Winsome Earle-Sears is running for Virginia Governor.
Personal background
Winsome Earle-Sears is from Kingston, Jamaica. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Old Dominion University and a master's degree in organizational leadership from Regent University. She lives with her husband, Terence, and their three children in Virginia.
Professional background
Winsome is a businesswoman and a trained electrician. She served in the United States Marine Corps. She also worked as a program manager for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and volunteered with AmeriCorps VISTA and was the owner of a plumbing, electrical, and home appliance business.
Political background
Winsome is currently the lieutenant governor of Virginia. She was elected in 2021. Winsome previously served one term in the Virginia House of Delegates, elected in 2001. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004 and as a write-in candidate for US Senate in 2018.
Economy
Supports protecting Virginia’s business- and worker-friendly environment to boost job growth, higher wages, and lower unemployment rates.
Supports right-to-work laws, saying they "protect workers from heavy-handed union bosses, forced dues, and fewer job opportunities."
Supports reducing government spending and regulations.
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Housing & Urban Development
Supports cooperation between state and local governments on housing issues.
Supports providing infrastructure grants, streamlining approval processes, and expanding tax initiatives to encourage public-private partnerships for affordable housing.
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Healthcare
As lieutenant governor, voted against a bill that would have guaranteed the right to access and use birth control in Virginia.
Said, "I’m not against medicinal marijuana. I’m just really worried about recreational marijuana."
Previously backed a six-week abortion ban but later reversed, saying she supports exceptions for rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
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Energy & the Environment
Supports an "all of the above" energy policy, including coal, gas, oil, nuclear, and renewables.
Supports Virginia's removal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), calling it an "unnecessary tax on residents." The RGGI requires power plants to pay for their carbon emissions, and the funds are used for energy efficiency and community programs.
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Public Safety
Supports state laws that "protect women-only spaces and preserve equal opportunities for female athletes."
Believes "Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies" have increased crime rates in Virginia and plans to implement stricter measures to address it.
Supports providing law enforcement with more resources.
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Foreign Policy and Immigration
Wants to "ensure violent criminal illegal immigrants are arrested, detained, and sent back to where they came from."
Opposes sanctuary cities and believes local officials should collaborate with federal immigration agents.
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Education
Opposes allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, saying "What is happening in our schools right now [is] dangerous [and] insane... There are two sexes, boys and girls."
Supports school voucher programs that would allow qualifying students to use state funding for private school tuition.
Believes higher education is facing challenges such as free speech debates on college campuses and antisemitism.
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Voting & Elections
Suports election integrity and emphasizes that only U.S. citizens should be able to vote.
Supports the removal of individuals from voter rolls who had not indicated their citizenship status on driver's license paperwork.
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