Political leaders across Virginia are condemning a racist sign directed at Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears during a tense Arlington School Board meeting Thursday night.
Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, attended the meeting as the board debated its transgender bathroom policy under pressure from the U.S. Department of Education. A transgender rights rally outside the meeting featured one protester carrying a two-sided sign: One side questioned Earle-Sears' stance on bathrooms, while the other carried a racist message comparing restrictions on transgender students to segregation-era water fountains.
The sign quickly drew widespread condemnation after images circulated online.
"I'm disgusted, but not surprised," Earle-Sears posted on X. "I'm an immigrant, a Marine, and above all, a human being. There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our Commonwealth. Anyone who doesn't condemn this sign is complicit."
Her Democrat opponent in the governor's race, Abigail Spanberger, also denounced the display, calling it "racist, abhorrent and unacceptable."
Statements condemning the sign poured in from both parties:
Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the "hypocrisy of the liberal left" was on display, adding that "Winsome is so much bigger than this idiocy."
GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares said Virginia "deserve[s] better."
Republican leaders including lieutenant governor candidate John Reid, state Sen. Ryan McDougle, and state Del. Mike Cherry also issued sharp rebukes.
State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Va., urged restraint, saying, "Two wrongs don't make a right … we should insist on better angels of our nature."
As of Thursday night, other Democrat contenders for statewide office, including state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and state Del. Jay Jones, had not commented publicly.
The incident adds further heat to an already charged gubernatorial race, with Earle-Sears and Spanberger set to square off in one of the nation's most closely watched contests.
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