Republican who used anti-trans ads to attack opponent loses Virginia governor election

A Republican candidate who leaned into anti-trans culture war issues in the race for Virginia governor has lost out to her Democrat opponent, who she attacked for supporting trans rights.

Winsome Earle-Sears, who has served as lieutenant governor for Old Dominion state since 2022, faced Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger in the gubernatorial race.

Spanberger, a former three-term congresswoman and CIA officer, won with more than 57 per cent of vote – with 87 per cent of it counted – to become Virginia’s first female governor.

“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbours and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told her supporters following her victory.

“We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship.

“We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”

Spanberger’s victory comes alongside wider wins for pro-LGBTQ+ Democrats in state and city-wide elections across the US, including Mikie Sherrill winning the governor race in New Jersey and Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in New York City to become NYC’s first Muslim mayor.

During the race in Virginia, Earle-Sears – who wildly claimed during a debate it was not discriminatory to fire someone for being gay – used anti-trans ads to attack Spanberger.

In one, Earle-Sears alleged the Democrat wants to see “men in girls’ locker rooms”. It concluded with the claim “Abigail Spanberger is for they/them, not us” – language which directly echoed a ‘trans panic’ ad used by Trump against Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential Election.

In an interview with Katie Couric published in October, Spanberger said “about $30 million worth of attack ads against me related to trans youth” had been run at the time, which she labelled “fearmongering”.

“I do find it really objectionable that there would be kids who turn on the television and as in an effort to attack me, see images of themselves sort of reflected as a villain,” Spanberger told Couric.

“I really do believe that a lot of these choices, whether it’s sports participation or bathroom usage, needs to be made at the very local level with parents and teachers and administrators and not necessarily dictated, certainly not by the federal government, or the state government.”

Earle-Sears has a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ comments.

Earlier this year, she wrote a note detailing her personal objection to an anti-discrimination bill that prevents officials denying marriage licences based on sex, gender or race. In her role as lieutenant governor she was constitutionally required to sign the legislation.

Back in 2024, Earle-Sears misgendered state senator Danica Roem by addressing her as “sir”.

After initially refusing to issue a statement, Earle-Sears offered an apology to the trans lawmaker.

“I understand senator Roem is upset,” Earle-Sears said at the time. “I’m not here to upset anyone, I’m here to do the job the people of Virginia have called me to do, and that is to treat everyone with respect and dignity.” 

Two decades earlier, in 2004, Earle-Sears unsuccessfully ran for congress and completed a now-archived candidate questionnaire in which she expressed staunchly anti-LGBTQ+ views.

In her answers she indicated she would vote against same-sex couples adopting children, and employee discrimination laws, would not hire “homosexual activists”, and backed the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. She also ticked a box asking if homosexuality was an “immoral lifestyle choice”.