Republicans are not ready to concede the Virginia governor’s race just yet.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is spending another $1.5 million on Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee, even though she continues to trail former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, her Democratic opponent.
The race received a jolt after Virginia’s Democratic candidate for attorney general apologized for widely condemned text messages from 2022 that revealed him suggesting that a prominent Republican get “two bullets to the head.”
Earle-Sears has hammered Spanberger for continuing to stand by Jay Jones, releasing a new ad urging voters to “reject the insanity” and “vote Republican.”
So far, Jones has rebuffed calls to drop out of the race with Virginia Democrats standing behind him.
“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 to Politico. “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 RGA has now invested $5 million in the race, matching the $5 million the Democratic Governors Association initially invested in Spanberger’s candidacy.
In 2021, Republicans invested $10.7 million in Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s campaign. Spanberger has $12.2 million cash on hand, compared to $4.9 million for Earle-Sears, Politico reported.
Despite the scandal surrounding the Democrats, Earle-Sears still faces an uphill battle. A Washington Post-Schar School poll released Friday has Spanberger leading Earle-Sears 55%-43% among likely voters. Spanberger has a 13-point lead over Earle-Sears among registered voters according to the poll.
The poll was taken before the text messages were leaked.
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