The Republican Governors Association is dropping another $1.5 million to boost Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, despite yawning cash and polling deficits against her Democratic rival for governor in Virginia.
The infusion brings the organization's investment in Earle-Sears’ bid up to $5 million, according to her campaign. And it comes on the heels of explosive revelations in the state’s attorney general race that Republicans are looking to exploit.
Earle-Sears is hammering former Rep. Abigail Spanberger for not calling on Jay Jones to step aside over newly unearthed text messages the Democratic attorney general candidate sent to a colleague in 2022 in which he mused about shooting a political rival. She also tied Spanberger to Jones in a new ad that calls on voters to “reject the insanity” and “vote Republican.”
“It’s clearer now than ever that this race isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s common sense versus violence,” said Peyton Vogel, a spokesperson for Earle-Sears campaign, in a statement. “The RGA understands what’s at stake here in Virginia, and their support will help us stand strong against Abigail Spanberger’s ticket of rage.”
The investment is notable given the RGA's initial reluctance to put much cash behind what GOP insiders had considered a floundering campaign. It also matches the $5 million the Democratic Governors Association initially put behind Spanberger’s campaign.
But it continues to pale in comparison to the $10.7 million the GOP governors’ group funneled into Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s campaign coffers four years ago. Spanberger also entered the home stretch of the race with $12.2 million in cash on hand — more than double Earle-Sears' $4.9 million.
Earle-Sears also trails Spanberger by double digits in recent surveys with early voting underway, including a Washington Post/George Mason University Schar School poll from late September that showed the Republican down 12 percentage points among likely voters.
Brakkton Booker contributed to this report.
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