Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears files for gubernatorial run to succeed Youngkin

The Virginia Department of Elections on Wednesday accepted the state’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’s filings to run for governor in the 2025 election, making her the first Republican candidate to join the race, according to Nexstar’s Richmond affiliate WRIC.

Sears and her team said that she would be making a “special announcement” on Thursday, the day after her paperwork was reportedly approved, according to WRIC. Sears is the first Republican to join the race to succeed Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin after Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia launched her own gubernatorial campaign in November of 2023.

Sears and Youngkin made headlines in 2021 when they flipped the governor and lieutenant governor’s seats in the battleground state just a year after President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in the state presidential election.

Prior to Sears winning her bid for lieutenant governor in 2021, the last Republican to serve as lieutenant governor was William Bolling, who was first elected nearly two decades ago in 2006 and went on to serve until 2014. Sears’ two lieutenant governor predecessors, Ralph Northam and Justin Fairfax, were both Democrats.

Although Youngkin won his race for governor by two points in 2021, he can’t run for reelection as governors are barred from serving consecutive terms.

Spanberger is currently serving in Virginia’s 7th district, with her run for governor opening up the possibility of a competitive race in the battleground seat, according to the AP. The representative defeated Republican challenger Yesli Vega for the House seat in 2022 by just 4.6%, according to CNN exit polls.

Sears’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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