RGA boosts Earle-Sears with $1.5M amid Virginia’s Dem AG race controversy
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Republican Governors Association is doling out another $1.5 million to support the GOP candidate, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who faces former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in a gubernatorial showdown on the ballot in November.
The new funding from the RGA, the top group backing Republicans in governor’s races, comes in the wake of explosive revelations that the GOP aims to gain an advantage up and down the ballot in Virginia’s attorney general race.
Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones acknowledged and apologized for messages he sent in 2022 in which he likened then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot; He added that if he were given two bullets, he would use both of them against the GOP lawmaker, shooting him in the head.
Jones has been in crisis mode since the texts were first reported by National Review last Friday, with a barrage of calls from Republicans urging Jones to drop out of the race.
DEMOCRAT’S VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATE CANCELED EVENTS Amid DEBATE
Winsome Earle-Sears, Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, during a campaign event at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 in Vienna, Virginia, United States. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Earle-Sears, who trails Spanberger in every recent poll in the race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is chiding her Democratic rival for not calling on Jones to drop out of the race.
The Earle-Sears campaign launched a new ad, first reported by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, that aims to link Spanberger to Jones and urges voters to “reject the madness” and “vote Republicans.”
TRUMP IS FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTION CONTESTS
“It’s clearer than ever that this race is not about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s about common sense versus violence,” Earle-Sears campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel said on Fox News. “RGA understands what is at stake in Virginia, and their support will help us stand strong against Abigail Spanberger’s outrage ticket.”
The increase in RGA funding, first reported by Politico and confirmed by Fox News Digital, now matches the rival Democratic Governors Association (DGA)’s nearly $5 million investment in Spanberger. But RGA’s cash flow is still far below the nearly $11 million the group spent to help Youngkin get elected four years ago.
Abigail Spanberger, Democratic Party of Virginia candidate for Governor, addresses the crowd during an event to support her candidacy for office at the East Henrico Recreation Center on April 8, 2025 in Richmond, Virginia. (Max Posner/Washington Post/Getty Images)
Earle-Sears and Spanberger face off in a debate Thursday evening, with three years of Jones’ texts expected to be discussed.
Virginia, along with New Jersey, is the only state to hold a gubernatorial showdown in the year after a presidential election, and the contests traditionally attract great attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year’s midterm elections.
In a request for comment, DGA Communications Director Sam Newton argued that “Winsome Sears ran a disastrous campaign.”
Newton continued: “Instead of desperately turning to try to save a losing campaign, the RGA should ask Donald Trump a simple question: why is he still refusing to endorse Sears or support the campaign?”
FOR FOX NEWS COVERAGE ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS, SEE HERE
Jones, who apologized for the messages, has not held a campaign event since Friday evening.
Most Virginia Democrats, including the Commonwealth’s two U.S. senators, condemned Jones’ comments but stopped short of urging him to drop out of the race.
Jay Jones, who is running to become Virginia’s attorney general in 2025, has faced heavy criticism in the past for a series of text messages calling for the death of political opponents and remarks about police officers. (Maxine Wallace/Washington Post/Getty Images)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the DGA vice chairman who will take over as chairman next year, told Fox News Digital that the text was “absolutely inappropriate.”
CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“I condemn any language that would discuss or encourage political violence and any form of political violence,” the governor said in an interview in New Hampshire. he emphasized.
But when asked about GOP calls for Jones to end his campaign, Beshear said, “I don’t know enough about this situation.”
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed reporting.
