Trump says he would endorse Earle-Sears for governor

By Shirleen Guerra

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would endorse Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the commonwealth’s 2025 governor’s race, three months ahead of Election Day.

“Yeah, I would. I would,” Trump said, when asked if he plans to back Earle-Sears. “I think she probably has a tough race. She shouldn’t have. The candidate she’s running against is not very good but I think she’s got a tough race, but I would, yeah.”

Trump’s statement comes after questions over whether he would endorse Earle-Sears, who in 2022 said the former president had become “a liability” and suggested it was time for new leadership in the Republican Party.

When Sears was asked in an interview last week whether she stood by those comments, Earle-Sears responded that she voted for Trump in all three presidential elections and praised his leadership on the economy and national defense.

During the same interview, Earle-Sears was also asked about federal workforce reductions under the Trump administration. She did not give a yes-or-no response, instead pointing to economic growth in Virginia.

Earle-Sears said the commonwealth has added more than 250,000 jobs and 15,000 new business startups, and also cited a proposed energy project in Fairfax County that she said would have created close to 800 high-paying jobs.

Days earlier, Virginia Commerce Secretary Juan Pablo Segura posted publicly that he had sent a letter to Fairfax County leaders urging them to do more to attract jobs and investment.

In an email to The Center Square, Spanberger campaign spokesperson Libby Wiet responded to Trump’s endorsement, stating:

“While Winsome Earle-Sears is spending her time defending Trump’s reckless assault on Virginia jobs, price-raising tariffs, and senseless attacks on Medicaid, Abigail Spanberger will continue rolling out plans focused on lowering costs for Virginia families, protecting Virginia’s economy, and strengthening Virginia’s public schools.”

Spanberger’s campaign also released an ad this week featuring footage from Earle-Sears’ CNN interview, focusing on her refusal to directly address federal job cuts.

The general election is Nov. 4.