Barring any late entries into the race, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-VA07, and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) look poised for a matchup to become Virginia’s next governor.
Both Spanberger and Sears are popular figures in their respective parties and have a large fanbase across Virginia. Neither candidate has placed an “issues” page on their campaign websites, likely holding off until their campaigns and the national narrative have formed.
On the issues, Spanberger is mostly running on middle-ground topics, focused on lowering prices and fighting inflation while also maintaining key Democratic talking points like protecting reproductive rights and fighting extremism.
Sears is running more on a vision of the future, with an emphasis on public safety and education reform. She also talks about her life story, the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant who came to the United States with very little money to build a life for his family.
Spanberger, working as a legislator, has many more accomplishments to tout as she regularly sponsors and votes on legislation. During her gubernatorial campaign, she has focused her messaging on passing the Social Security Fairness Act, legislation to combat substance abuse and human trafficking, giving Medicare the power to negotiate prices and helping veterans use their GI benefits.
Sears largely has a small voting history, as the only legislative power she has is casting tie-breaking votes in the state Senate. That can be beneficial in a campaign, however, as there is less ammo to use by her opponent on the campaign trail.
Reproductive access
Spanberger often talks of her support of keeping access to abortion and reproductive care in Virginia.
In September, on the second anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Spanberger released a statement calling its codification.
“On the second anniversary of this dark day in our nation’s history, we must recommit ourselves to codifying Roe v. Wade and resisting all attempts to turn back the clock on women’s rights,” she said. “As lawmakers, we must protect the right to choose — and all the fundamental freedoms that we hold dear.”
In the past, Sears has been supportive of adding restrictions to a woman’s right to an abortion in Virginia. She faced backlash in 2021 during her lieutenant governor campaign for stating during an interview that she would support the six-week heartbeat ban that Texas implemented.
“Well I can tell you that would be me, that I would support it,” she said during the 2021 interview with Newsmax.
Sears mostly stayed out of the media for the remainder of the 2021 campaign after the Newsmax interview. She was eventually elected alongside her Republican running mates Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares.
In 2022, after Roe was overturned, Sears said she would support a 15-week ban on abortion.
Youngkin and Republicans tried to move forward with legislation to accomplish the 15-week ban but were unable to advance it through a divided General Assembly.
Education
During School Choice Week in January of this year, Sears published an op-ed calling for state funding to be given to students in Virginia to use for tuition and other educational expenses.
“Students stuck in schools, because of their zip code, deserve a lifeline – not an outdated, one-size-fits-all approach that will hold them back even farther,” she wrote. “That’s why I am sponsoring legislation to create new opportunities for financially disadvantaged students. SB533/HB1164, Education Excellence for All, which will allow parents of low-income, at-risk children to use the state, not federal or local, portion of education funding for qualified educational expenses, like tuition, textbooks, additional tutoring, achievement tests.”
Both bills were killed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Sears also has a concern over race-based policies in education, her campaign told Virginia Scope. She wants merit-driven approaches to ensure fair treatment and strong academic standards for all students.
Spanberger’s congressional website says she “is working in Congress to give every Virginia student access to a high-quality public education, and she is opposed to efforts that seek to privatize or erode faith in our public education system.”
She also introduced legislation in Congress this year that would help local school divisions recruit, train and retain educators and school administrators.
“Allowing more educators-in-training to get hands-on experience in the classroom as they earn their degree is a proven way to grow a strong education workforce,” she said in October.
Marijuana
Virginia legalized simple possession of marijuana in 2021 during Gov. Ralph Northam’s final year as governor, but legislators and Glenn Youngkin have been unable to find a consensus on establishing a retail market.
Spanberger, during an interview with RVA Mag in May, said that it is up to the governor and General Assembly to approach this topic in a way that can benefit public health and safety along with the economy.
“Currently, there are a lot of gray areas in terms of how we procure recreational marijuana within Virginia,” she said. “We need a clear strategy and plan to transition Virginia into a state that has legalized retail markets that can focus on these concerns.”
During an interview in 2021, Sears said she fired an employee for smoking marijuana and criticized the General Assembly for legalizing it.
“I had to let somebody go who worked for me, found out he was on marijuana, you can’t work for me, you’re gonna destroy somebody’s home, you’re gonna crash, it’s gonna decimate us, because marijuana is a gateway drug…There is no hope in that, there is no future,” she said.
Right to Work
In a recent op-ed, Sears said she would fiercely protect Virginia’s Right to Work law.
“Our Right to Work law is a cornerstone of our success: It drives economic competitiveness, attracts job creators, and bolsters an environment where investments flourish, companies thrive, and workers have the freedom to choose their own path,” she wrote.
Sears called out Spanberger for co-sponsoring legislation that would force states to accept union mandates without state debate.
She also attacked Spanberger for avoiding taking a stance on the issue at a recent event.
“Virginians are owed a straight answer from Congresswoman Spanberger on where she stands,” Sears wrote. “Her silence, so far, proves she believes we don’t deserve one.”
Spanberger spent her time during the event focused on early childhood education and workforce training.
“Abigail made clear today that she is focused on providing stability for Virginia’s economy, investing in tomorrow’s workforce through career training and early childhood education programs, and bringing new capital investment to all corners of Virginia,” Connor Joseph, a spokesperson for Spanberger’s campaign said after the event.
Partisanship and history
Sears could potentially become the first Black female governor in the United States. She told Fox News, however, that she is not running for that reason.
“I’m not really running to make history. I’m just trying to, as I’ve said before, leave it better than I found it, and I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had,” she said.
Sears is considered more conservative than Youngkin ideologically by many, which could cause and electability problem in Virginia, a purple state.
When asked by Fox News if he believes Sears is too socially conservative for Virginia voters, Youngkin said, “Not at all. And Winsome is a commonsense conservative leader. We have been partners literally from day one. We campaigned together. We were elected together. We have governed together.”
Spanberger, often considered a moderate who is willing to work with Republicans, has said she does so to achieve accomplishments, not for the sake of being bipartisan.
“I have tried to get ‘passionate pragmatist’ to become a thing,” she recently told the Washington Post. “People have sort of labeled me as all sorts of things along the way. But at the end of the day, the thing I want to be labeled most is effective.”