Winsome Earle-Sears, the all-but-certain Republican nominee in the Virginia governor\u2019s race this fall, has built the early stages of her campaign around being Gov. Glenn Youngkin\u2019s partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earle-Sears, the state\u2019s lieutenant governor, has largely attempted to frame her candidacy<\/a> as an extension of the current administration<\/a>, an attempt to replicate the term-limited governor\u2019s path to victory in the blue-leaning state four years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTogether, we\u2019ve fought for parents, backed the blue, and delivered real results for Virginians. Now, it\u2019s time to keep that momentum going,\u201d Earle-Sears, referring to Youngkin, wrote in a Facebook post<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there has been notable daylight between Earle-Sears and Youngkin on several fronts, particularly on social issues, complicating her strategy to follow in the footsteps of her more popular governing partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe is definitely trying to have it all ways,\u201d said a Republican operative in Virginia, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about Earle-Sears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most prominently, Earle-Sears has made clear she is not fully aligned with Youngkin on a pair of hot-button social issues: same-sex marriage and abortion rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Youngkin signed legislation protecting marriage equality in Virginia. But Earle-Sears left a handwritten note on the bill<\/a> stating she was \u201cmorally opposed\u201d to the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the bill\u2019s passage through both chambers of the Legislature, Earle-Sears wrote on the physical copy<\/a>, \u201cAs the Lt. Governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to the procedures laid out in the Constitution of Virginia. However, I remain morally opposed to the contents of HB174 as passed by the General Assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears doubled down on separating herself from Youngkin\u2019s position on the issue in a recent interview, telling a local news outlet in Richmond<\/a> last month that she was \u201cfine\u201d with civil unions but refused to say she supported same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s also out of step with Youngkin\u2019s positioning on abortion rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, Youngkin\u2002proposed a 15-week ban<\/a> on abortion in the state, which included exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother, in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to help the GOP carve out a less severe \u201cconsensus\u201d bill restricting reproductive rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For her part, Earle-Sears has supported a ban at six weeks, or when fetal cardiac activity is detected \u2014 a point at which most women don\u2019t even know they are pregnant \u2014 and with fewer exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While she got behind Youngkin\u2019s 15-week ban in 2023, she left another handwritten note on a measure passed<\/a> by the Legislature earlier this year to send to voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine the state\u2019s abortion protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am morally opposed to this bill; no protection for the child,\u201d she wrote. She has also in the past called abortion \u201cgenocide\u201d<\/a> and vowed to \u201cdo everything in my power\u201d to end abortion<\/a> in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Youngkin managed to shift the focus elsewhere during his 2021 campaign \u2014 and has largely had to continue doing so as governor, as he\u2019s dealt with a Democratic-controlled Legislature. But the fact that he staked out middle ground on social issues has only further highlighted Earle-Sears\u2019 more conservative positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, Earle-Sears has faced criticism for her approach to the plight of federal workers in Virginia who have been affected by President Donald Trump\u2019s moves to shrink<\/a> the size of government via the Department of Government Efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She praised those efforts\u2002<\/a>earlier this year, saying she was \u201cglad\u201d Trump was \u201cgetting to the bottom\u201d of alleged waste and fraud in the federal government. While she has often pointed to the Youngkin administration\u2019s investments in the private sector of the Virginia economy as a reason workers need not worry, she has also said she would help Trump \u201cget the job done<\/a>\u201d on the issue. And she downplayed the federal layoffs at an event in March,<\/a> saying, \u201cThe media is making it out to be a huge, huge thing \u2014 and I don\u2019t understand why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Youngkin, on the other hand, has said he\u2002wants to \u201ccushion\u201d his state\u2019s economy\u2002<\/a>from the effects of DOGE and earlier this year was frequently touting a website his administration created that effectively serves as a job board<\/a> \u2014 while also praising DOGE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears\u2019 positions stand in contrast to the relative political middle ground Youngkin has famously staked out in Virginia \u2014 efforts that have contributed to a record of strong approval<\/a> ratings for the Republican governor in a state that Kamala Harris carried last year by about 6 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, though, a Roanoke College poll<\/a> found a 44% favorability rating for Youngkin among registered voters, versus 50% who view him unfavorably \u2014 his worst showing in that particular poll, and a possible indication that the broader GOP brand could be facing trouble in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Earle-Sears had lower marks, with only 32% viewing her favorably and 48% saying they had an unfavorable view. Another 20% of respondents said they had no opinion of her. And the poll showed Democrat Abigail Spanberger leading Earle-Sears in the governor\u2019s race by 17 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Political operatives in the state from both parties told NBC News these notable departures by Earle-Sears \u2014 particularly on social issues \u2014 risk turning off large chunks of voters in the political center that she\u2019d need to hold together Youngkin\u2019s winning coalition from four years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s her core promise to the voter? It should be pretty simple: \u2018Things are going good. Let\u2019s keep it going\u2019 \u2014 but she gets distracted,\u201d the Republican operative said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democratic Party of Virginia spokesperson Maggie Amjad said these issues, and others, show that Earle-Sears \u201cis a far-right candidate with a long record that\u2019s out of step with Virginians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representatives for both Earle-Sears and Youngkin downplayed any differences in their political views and emphasized that Youngkin\u2019s strengths as governor still extended to Earle-Sears and other Republicans on the ballot in Virginia this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe media\u2019s obsession with creating division where there isn\u2019t any won\u2019t change the fact that the Youngkin-Sears Administration is one of the most popular in Virginia\u2019s history \u2014 that\u2019s no accident,\u201d Earle-Sears campaign press secretary Peyton Vogel said in an email to NBC News. \u201cThey share a commitment to common-sense leadership, individual liberty, and getting government out of the way. Winsome has been a vital part of this administration, and will continue to bring ideas to the table that better the lives of Virginians across the Commonwealth as Governor just as she has during her time as Lieutenant Governor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justin Discigil, a spokesperson for Youngkin\u2019s Spirit of Virginia PAC, said in an email that \u201cYoungkin has delivered for Virginians with record tax relief, record job growth, and record investments in education, law enforcement, behavioral health, and other shared priorities,\u201d and that Earle-Sears \u201cand all Virginia Republicans have a record to run on with proven results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A challenging political landscape<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears\u2019 positioning on social issues and DOGE could further complicate what had already emerged as an uphill climb for Republicans to keep control of the governorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears has already faced a torrent of criticism<\/a> for running an undisciplined campaign. And Spanberger, her opponent, is widely seen as a strong candidate who has won several competitive House races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GOP also faces historical headwinds: In 11 of the last 12 Virginia gubernatorial races<\/a>, voters elected the candidate of the party out of power in the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Republicans view Youngkin\u2019s 2021 victory as the product of a unique candidate who was able to benefit from the anger and fatigue over the Covid-19 pandemic and remote learning in public schools. Strategists said that will be difficult to replicate this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe just simply makes the main thing the main thing, and he\u2019s extremely disciplined about it. Everything fits into \u2018make Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family.\u2019 He puts everything into the common sense bucket, the kitchen-table issue bucket. That\u2019s where he lives. That\u2019s why his approval ratings are always pretty high,\u201d said Virginia-based Republican strategist Zack Roday, who previously worked with Youngkin through his Spirit of Virginia PAC but is not working with the Earle-Sears campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roday, along with other Virginia GOP strategists, suggested that Earle-Sears hadn\u2019t yet displayed the same political strengths.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Democrats signaled they were preparing to seize on another difference they said would be meaningful to Virginia voters: how each candidate handled Trump during their campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the 2021 campaign, Youngkin notably kept his distance from Trump, who was at a political low point following his loss to Joe Biden and the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. While Youngkin has since cultivated a much more public and close relationship<\/a> with Trump in the years since, operatives from both major parties credited that distance during that campaign as another reason he won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears has so far voiced full-throated support for Trump.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earle-Sears \u201cis only focused on appeasing Trump and pushing an extreme agenda that\u2019s wrong for Virginia,\u201d said Amjad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n