First Republican steps up for 2025 Virginia governor race

With Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R-VA) term limits preventing him from running for reelection, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) has stepped up to run for governor of Virginia in the 2025 off-year election .

Earle-Sears filed her statement of organization with the Virginia Department of Elections on Sept. 4, which made her the first Republican to submit paperwork for the contest.

Earle-Sears became the second woman and the first woman of color to hold a statewide office. If she is successful in her 2025 campaign, Earle-Sears will become the first black woman to serve as governor in the United States.

Earle-Sears, Youngkin, and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares were part of a mini-Republican revolution in Virginia two years ago.

Following a steady stream of Democratic wins in the once safe-red state, Youngkin and Earle-Sears won their 2022 contests with campaigns heavily focused on parental rights in education and fighting against critical race theory in public schools.

Prior to her role as lieutenant governor, Earle-Sears was a state delegate and served in the Marine Corps. She immigrated from Jamaica as a child.

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So far, only one Democratic candidate is running for Virginia governor. Last year, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) declared she would be running. If Spanberger and Earle-Sears are the nominees next November, it will be a historic matchup, as Virginia has never had a female governor.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Earle-Sears’s communication officer for a comment.