Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears dismissed the idea of an uphill battle in this year's gubernatorial election against Democrat candidate Abigail Spanberger, telling the Washington Examiner that Virginians like the direction of the current administration.
Earle-Sears hopes to replace Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is term-limited, in the governor's mansion after November's election.
"Polls are telling us and people are telling us that they want what we're doing to continue. And this is where I believe my opponent, Abigail Spanberger, is going to get tripped up because the people like what we've done," Earle-Sears told the Examiner.
Youngkin, Earle-Sears, and Attorney General Jason Miyares swept their respective races in 2021 by running campaigns that took aim at former President Joe Biden's leadership during the COVID pandemic, according to the report.
But now, Earle-Sears is facing the backlash aimed at President Donald Trump for cuts to the federal workforce that heavily impacted Virginia's population of federal workers, according to The New York Times.
But Earle-Sears told the Examiner that affordability under Spanberger is an issue that can be exploited.
"When you think about taxes, she's just not affordable. She wants to raise my taxes. I'm not working this hard, and the people are telling me they're not working this hard so they can give more of their money to the government. No," Earle-Sears said. "She wants to raise taxes, I want to continue to lower taxes, to the point where I want to make sure we get rid of the dreaded, hated car tax. Nobody likes that, including, I'm sure, she doesn't like that.
"She won't do anything about it. I will."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.