Former state Sen. Amanda Chase announced Wednesday night that she is seeking the Republican nomination to run for governor.
She said that if her supporters can collect enough signatures for her to make the ballot by April 3, which is 10,000 signatures, including 400 from each congressional district, she will run in the primary.
“In the past few days, I’ve learned that our only declared Republican candidate for Governor has encountered some pretty serious issues with her campaign,” Chase wrote in an email. “We now face an almost certain defeat in November, if we don’t find a candidate who can manage and organize a successful campaign against Spanberger.”
“We need ‘Trump in Heels’ if we’re going to defeat Abigail Spanberger in November. I am that candidate,” she continued. “If those of you who want me to run for Governor will collect the necessary signatures to get my name on the ballot by the deadline, I will run. If not, then I won’t.”
Chase ran for governor in 2021 but came in third for the nomination behind Glenn Youngkin and Pete Snyder.
She lost a primary race for her seat in the state Senate to Glen Sturtevant in 2023. She ran in the special election in 2024 to fill John McGuire’s seat but did not win the nomination.
If Chase makes it into the race, it sets up a three-way primary between Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, former Del. Dave LaRock, and Chase.
LaRock filed his paperwork to run Wednesday, meaning he has the same uphill challenge of signature collection by April 3 to make the ballot.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin endorsed Sears and reaffirmed that endorsement Wednesday night.
“I fully support Winsome Sears to be Virginia’s next governor,” Youngkin said. “She has been a steadfast partner when it comes to standing up for parents, backing the blue, making Virginia the Top State for Business and delivering historic tax relief to lower the cost of living. She is a United States Marine who knows how to fight, a small business owner who knows what it means to sign the front of a paycheck, and a proven winner. I will stand with her every step of the way as our party unites and she wins in November.”