RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the first Black woman to hold statewide office in Virginia’s long history, has officially set her sights on the state’s top political office.
The Virginia Department of Elections on Wednesday accepted the necessary documents for Earle-Sears to run for governor next year, WRIC was first to report.
Earle-Sears is the first Republican to officially enter the race for the party’s nomination in 2025. She recently said she was exploring a run.
The current governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, cannot run for reelection because Virginia is the only state that doesn’t allow governors to run for consecutive terms.
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the only Democrat currently seeking her party’s nomination to run for governor.
Earle-Sears was part of a Republican sweep of top offices in 2021 that also saw Youngkin and Attorney Gen. Jason Miyares get elected.
A staunch conservative who speaks frequently about her Christian faith, Earle-Sears has made history as a woman in politics before.
She got her start in elected office in 2001 when she stunned both parties by defeating a 10-term Democrat in an overwhelmingly blue district to become the first Black Republican woman elected to the House of Delegates.
Earle-Sears went on to serve on the State Board of Education and more recently as the national chair of an organization dedicated to reelecting former President Donald Trump. She has also led a men’s prison ministry, served as director of a women’s homeless shelter, and run a plumbing and electrical supply company.