Potential Youngkin successor focused on message in tough race to keep swing-state 'red'

RICHMOND, Va. – EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was officially named the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nominee connected Tuesday evening, and during an exclusive interrogation with Fox News Digital, she described herself arsenic "not a precise accepted candidate."

She said her extremity is to scope voters crossed the governmental spectrum portion moving to support Virginia’s historical authorities capitol – America’s oldest – nether Republican leadership.

She besides spoke astir her idiosyncratic communicative and argumentation platform, and wherefore they some resonate with voters. Earle-Sears was asked astir governing astatine a clip erstwhile determination is uncertainty and hostility some astatine location and abroad.

"When it comes to information and security, is that not the archetypal existent relation of the governmental leader?" she told Fox News Digital.

"It is to guarantee that everybody is harmless [because] we can't speech astir economical development, we can’t speech astir education, we cannot speech astir energy, we can't speech astir affordable housing, if you're not harmless and secure."

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Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears rallies successful Chantilly, Virginia. (Reuters)

"[I]f you privation to protest, of course. You indispensable workout your close to protest. But you indispensable bash it safely, and you indispensable not endanger others."

During her code astatine the Hippodrome Theater successful Richmond’s Jackson Ward, Earle-Sears said she is assured successful her quest to support Richmond successful Republican hands.

Part of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s palmy strategy successful 2021 was to tally up votes successful Republican-friendly areas successful southwest Virginia, wherever radical besides identified with President Donald Trump’s connection of the "forgotten antheral and woman."

Earle-Sears pointed retired that successful immoderate parts of the region, residents unrecorded person to arsenic galore arsenic six different authorities capitals than their ain – and often consciousness politicians amusement up during predetermination season, past disappear.

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In that regard, Earle-Sears pledged her archetypal enactment arsenic politician would beryllium to unfastened a "second" governor’s bureau successful the Old Dominion’s agrarian occidental expanse. That move, she said, is portion of a larger connection that needs to beryllium spoken of much successful politics.

"Everybody wants to beryllium heard," she said. "I made a committedness that I would not beryllium 1 of those kinds of politicians."

Conversely, she said, radical successful bluish areas similar the Washington, D.C., suburbs besides person the close to perceive a blimpish connection and person leaders from each sides responsive to them. "I mean, I look similar the benignant of radical who truly bash usually ballot Democratic, and I'm not. And truthful I'm appealing to each voters.

"My connection is simply a common-sense connection that nary substance wherever you came from successful life, nary substance what colour you are, nary substance what state you came from, erstwhile you came to America and you tried and present you are succeeding, that's what we need."

During her speech, she spoke of however her begetter brought her to the U.S. arsenic a young girl, landing successful New York with $1.75 to his sanction – and however past her begetter could apt ne'er ideate his girl successful 1 procreation would beryllium primed for a state’s highest office.

"Here I stand, second-in-command successful the erstwhile superior of the Confederacy," Earle-Sears said. "Don’t archer maine America hasn’t changed."

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She besides issued a informing to her Democratic opponent, erstwhile Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. 

The GOP nominee, presently down Spanberger by low-single-digits, utilized the idiom of a car traveling down the roadworthy and the operator looking successful their broadside reflector and speechmaking the sticker: "Objects are person than they appear."

Spanberger held a abstracted lawsuit Monday astatine her precocious schoolhouse alma mater successful Henrico County, with a assemblage of astir 400, according to reports. 

Fox News Digital had reached retired to the Spanberger run up of Election Day arsenic well.

At Tucker High School, Spanberger said being backmost reminded her "why this combat is worthy fighting."

"I was fortunate to person astonishing opportunities here. I was fortunate to person educators who cared profoundly astir the aboriginal of their students. I was lucky. And now, I privation to marque definite that each student, each family, and each assemblage successful Virginia has those aforesaid opportunities…" Spanberger said.

State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Short Pump, who besides spoke, called Spanberger a "Henrico Hometown Hero."