The Virginia Department of Elections has officially accepted Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’s filings to run for governor in the 2025 election, making her the first Republican candidate to enter the race, according to WRIC, a Nexstar Richmond affiliate. Sears and her team have announced a “special announcement” planned for Thursday, following the approval of her paperwork.
Sears is the first Republican to declare her candidacy to succeed current Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger launched her gubernatorial campaign in November 2023, setting the stage for a competitive race.
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Sears and Youngkin made national headlines in 2021 when they flipped Virginia’s governor and lieutenant governor positions in a battleground state that had favored President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Before Sears’ victory in 2021, the last Republican to hold the lieutenant governor role was William Bolling, who served from 2006 to 2014. Her two immediate predecessors, Ralph Northam and Justin Fairfax, were both Democrats. While Youngkin won his gubernatorial race by a two-point margin in 2021, Virginia law prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms, preventing him from seeking reelection.
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Spanberger, currently representing Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, faces a competitive battleground as she shifts her focus to the governor’s race. In 2022, she narrowly won her House seat, defeating Republican challenger Yesli Vega by 4.6%, according to CNN exit polls.
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