Republican Winsome Sears becomes first female lieutenant governor of Virginia

Winsome Sears of the Republican Party has become the first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of colour to win statewide office in Virginia. Sears has made a comeback into the politics of Virginia after an absence of nearly two decades.

Sears defeated Hala Ayala of the Democratic Party in Tuesday’s election.  Virginia would have got its first woman of colour to hold statewide office regardless of the result.

Sears is a former Marine who had a brief stint in electoral politics 20 years ago as a one-term delegate in the General Assembly, representing parts of Hampton Roads

The Republican made a political comeback earlier this year when she won the GOP nomination on the strength of a campaign photo in which she posed holding a military rifle. Her return to politics after a two-decade absence began when she served as national chairperson for Black Americans to Re-Elect President Donald Trump.

Sears will succeed Democrat Justin Fairfax, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. The marquee election Tuesday was the gubernatorial race, which Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin won, defeating former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Early on Wednesday, Sears stood with her family in front of cheering supporters at a victory party in Chantilly, saying, “What you are looking at is the American Dream.”

Throughout the race, Sears also highlighted her background as a Jamaican immigrant, campaigning against illegal immigration and rejecting the notion that the nation is plagued by systemic racism.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I am Black and I have been Black all my life,” she said. “But that’s not what this is about. What we are going to do is we are now going to be about the business of the commonwealth. We have things to tend to.”

She said she will work to fully fund historically Black colleges and implement Youngkin’s agenda.

“He’s going to get rid of all kinds of taxes,” she said.

During the campaign, Ayala criticized Sears for refusing to say whether she had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Sears ridiculed mask mandates during the primary.

Sears won despite being badly outgunned financially — reports showed Ayala’s campaign more than doubled Sears in fundraising, with $6.4 million raked in by Ayala, compared with $2.6 million for Sears.

Sears’ role as a tiebreaking vote in a closely divided state Senate has become even more important after Tuesday’s results. Republicans won the governor’s mansion, and the GOP is also claiming that it has regained control of the House of Delegates, though several key races are still too early to call.

If Republicans do gain control of the House, the only thing blocking them from total control of state government is a narrow 21-19 Democratic advantage in the state Senate. Senators are not up for reelection until 2023.

If Republicans can pick up just one centrist Democrat on key pieces of legislation, Sears could be the tiebreaking vote to ensure passage.

Sears has long opposed abortion, something she links to her Christian faith.

“I’m a Christian first and a Republican second. I don’t want to hear about your economic policies and you’re going to build the country if we have to kill babies along the way,” she told an interviewer in 2019.