Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears spoke about the importance of higher education for life success in her campaign for governor of Virginia in an event at the Rotunda Tuesday. The event, co-sponsored by the Center for Politics and the Jefferson Council, was the lieutenant governor’s first public appearance of the 2025 campaign at the University.
A Jamaican immigrant and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Earle-Sears is the first female lieutenant governor of Virginia, and is hoping to become Virginia’s first female governor. She will face Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger Nov. 4.
As the Republican nominee for governor, Earle-Sears is beginning to ramp up her campaign, starting with an event directed at University students. At the event, Earle-Sears said if Virginia was a car, the four wheels would be the key parts of her campaign — jobs, energy, safety and security and, of course, education.
Calling education the key to future success, she said that higher education was her and her father’s path out of poverty. Education was the primary focus of her speech which frequently drew on her own experience as a Jamaican American.
She was six years old in 1970 when she and her father immigrated to the United States, a time when she said education for Black Americans was contentious. The Brown v. Board of Education decision, which guaranteed integration in schooling, was still being ignored by some Southern states and schools.
“These were serious times. I asked my father, ‘Why would you come here?’ It was a bad time for us,” Earle-Sears said. “He said, ‘Because America is where the jobs and the opportunities were.’”
Earle-Sears discussed how the country has fought since its inception for rights, including fights for civil rights and free speech.
“We had to fight, people who look like me, just to have the ability to be a human being,” Earle-Sears said.
Once her family settled in the U.S. and education was secured as a right, she said that attending school was transformative for her success.
Now, after a campaign that prioritized parental rights in education as a significant part of his 2021 campaign, Earle-Sears serves as lieutenant governor under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. As governor, Youngkin has significantly expanded the amount of the state budget allocated to public education, as well as moving to address teacher shortages in a number of Virginia counties. More controversially, he also barred schools from teaching “divisive” subjects in K-12 education like critical race theory.
Earle-Sears said that Virginians approve of investments she and Youngkin have made into education.
“Education is the key to the future. Once it's here, it cannot be taken from you,” Earle-Sears said.
But she said that today, education is in a tough spot. She singled out debates over free speech on college campuses and the prevalence of antisemitism as issues facing higher education today. A recent survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International found that 83 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
“We cannot reject the truth in order to advance political agendas. It will not work. We cannot suppress free speech,” Earle-Sears said. “The rise and spread of antisemitism must not continue.”
Second-year College student James Pilot said that he was moved by the lieutenant governor’s comments about free speech protections, as it is his top issue when choosing who to vote for in the election.
“The biggest thing for me is just promoting free speech and exchange of dialogue on college campuses … being able to express your opinion freely without the worries of having backlash,” Pilot said.
Though Pilot is the rising chair of the University’s chapter of the Young America’s Foundation — an organization which aims to help conservative students express their voices on college campuses — he said he hopes to hear Spanberger speak in her next visit to the University. He said he plans to vote for Earle-Sears but wants to hear both sides.
Earle-Sears did take a moment to acknowledge the race she is in against Spanberger, one that could be a tough race for a Republican. With the exception of 2013, the president’s party has lost the Virginia gubernatorial election every year since 1973.
While the event had no opportunity for questions from students, other than three pre-selected Center for Politics interns with pre-written questions, one student asked Earle-Sears about the historic nature of this year’s election, which is all but certain to produce the first female governor of Virginia, Earle-Sears acknowledged but downplayed the significance of identity in this campaign.
“So I do acknowledge that it is a historic election, but I think for me, I never really ever stood on the history of anything that I've ever done,” Earle-Sears said. “Because once it's done, it's done, and other people want to know — ‘now what?’’’
She said that in her position as lieutenant governor but also as a candidate, she has been able to hear from voters about what they are prioritizing in the upcoming election.
“I think people want to know — ‘Do you see me? Do you know me? Do you know what moves me? Do you know what I'm facing? Have you come around and asked me my opinion about anything?’” Earle-Sears said.
Pursuing a career in the military as a member of the Air Force ROTC, second-year College student Joshua Rodriguez Cruz said one of the more compelling points of Earle-Sears’ speech was her mention of bolstering the military and national defense.
Earle-Sears briefly talked about her time in the Marine Corps in her speech, saying it gave her direction at a young age when she was uncertain about her life.
“When I joined the Marine Corps, I joined because I was aimless. My grandmother had died, and I thought my life at 18 years old was over,” Earle-Sears said. “I joined the Corps because I figured they will give me the discipline I need. They will give me a reason to live…I learned a great deal, and learned so much about this great country.”
Rodriguez Cruz said he attended Earle-Sears’ speech simply to learn more as an undecided voter in this race — one who voted for Kamala Harris last November.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was nice to see different perspectives,” Rodriguez Cruz said. “I came here with the sole purpose of just learning and not having any preconceived notions about the lieutenant governor.”
In the campaign, Earle-Sears will attempt to win over voters with the four key policy wheels she mentioned in the metaphor of Virginia as a car — one that she said she will be the driver of.
“I am going to drive Virginia's car so that we continue the great success that we have had,” Earle-Sears said. “We haven't come this far to only go this far. There's a lot more to be done, and I am the one to do it.”
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