Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears on Wednesday reportedly announced raising more than $3 million for her gubernatorial campaign, including one donation of $50,000 from the campaign committee belonging to former Representative Kevin McCarthy.
In the four months since Earle-Sears announced her campaign last September, the lieutenant governor has reportedly raised more than $3 million, with Virginia Scope reporting a spokesman for the candidate said the campaign is “in full-swing” with a “rush of grassroots and financial support” leaving Earle-Sears “in a position of great strength” as Virginia begins its gubernatorial campaign season.
While the majority of Earle-Sears’ fundraising haul appears to be from small-dollar donations, her campaign also reported more than two dozen large contributions that range in value from $1,000 to $10,000, as well as one donation of $50,000 by the Kevin McCarthy for Congress campaign committee.
The report for this donation confirms the Kevin McCarthy for Congress committee sent $50,000 to the Winsome for Governor committee on January 2. The campaign reported the donation one day later.
McCarthy resigned from Congress after he was ousted as Speaker of the House in an initiative led by former Representative Matt Gaetz, but despite resigning his congressional seat, the former speaker has remained active in Virginia politics.
During the 2024 elections, he openly supported Representative John McGuire (R-VA-05) in his successful effort to primary, former Representative Bob Good, who both joined Gaetz in the effort to oust McCarthy and endorsed Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida during the Republican presidential primaries, drawing the ire of Trump 2024 campaign manager Chris LaCivita.
McGuire also derided Good for participating in the effort to oust McCarthy, arguing it was poorly timed, and allowed Virginia Democrats to capitalize on Republican disunity during the commonwealth’s 2023 elections.
Earle-Sears’ likely Democratic opponent, former Representative Abigail Spanberger, boasted a $5.96 million fundraising haul in 2024 and already has nearly $9.6 in total to use for her 2025 gubernatorial campaign.
In remarks to Virginia Scope, Earle-Sears said she was not surprised by the figures, considering Spanberger announced she would leave Congress to run for governor in early 2024.
“Well, considering that she’s had a long runway, I’m not surprised,” Earle-Sears told the outlet, before stating that Republicans are more diligent about spending donor money. She told the outlet, “we know exactly how to spend it very well. We will reach the people.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Winsome Earle-Sears” by Winsome Earle Sears.
