Earle-Sears and Spanberger spar over Jones’ text in their one debate

Gubernatorial hopefuls Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears and Abigail Spanberger, former Congresswoman, appeared on stage in person for the first time and probably only time during this election. They answered questions for one hour that ranged from the hated car tax to Jay Jones text messages to the Trump Administration and the ongoing shutdown of the federal government.

Earle-Sears has consistently trailed Spanberger in the polls leading up to the debate on Thursday.

She entered the debate with an attitude of “nothing to lose”, which was evident in her behavior over the hour. Earle-Sears interrupted her opponent for most of the hour and redirected answers to moderators’ questions to ask Spanberger her own questions.

Virginia’s governor election in the off-year is often viewed as a predictor of midterm elections, and a referendum on the current administration.

Spanberger has used her campaign to make Earle-Sears’ opposition to Trump’s administration a central part of her bid for office. She links Earle Sears’ actions to those of the president whenever possible. Earle-Sears is yet to receive an endorsement by President Donald Trump. The Spanberger campaign also focuses its messages on the economy and reproductive health care.

Earle-Sears campaign focused on culture war issues. The campaign pivots in an effort to link Spanberger with a recent scandal involving text messages with violence sent by the Democratic candidate in 2022 to a Republican member of the General Assembly.

Norfolk State University hosted the debate, and Nexstar was the host of this event. The debate was moderated jointly by WRIC-TV anchor Deanna Allebrittin and WAVY-TV anchor Tom Schaad.

Here’s what candidates had to say about everything from the car tax, to Jay Jones’s texts to Trump, to the heightened political rhetoric

Earle-Sears answered the first question. How to eliminate the car tax, but still provide revenue to the localities. She pointed out that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin had tried to eliminate the tax earlier in the year with his budget amendment proposal. However, the General Assembly refused to remove the tax from the final spending bill. She asked Spanberger if, in light of recent reports about Jones’ text messages, she would urge him to drop out of the race for attorney general.

Spanberger, when asked the same question, said that Earle Sears didn’t make any effort to eliminate the tax during her tenure as lieutenant-governor. Spanberger continued to state that she had a history of “getting taxed” during her time as a congresswoman, following a brief interruption from Earle-Sears. She also said she would build a coalition of bipartisans to tackle the problem.

The moderators then asked Spanberger if Jones had sent her text messages, and if Spanberger would continue to support him in his campaign for Attorney General. She didn’t directly respond to whether she planned to continue to support Jones, but she said that she would denounce his comments at every chance. She stated that she learned of the texts on the same day as the National Review article was published.

Earle-Sears answered a question about Trump’s remarks at the funeral of conservative journalist Charlie Kirk, where Trump stated that he hates all his opponents. Moderators asked if such political speeches have a place. Earle-Sears replied that as a Christian it was her duty to forgive and that she wouldn’t say “that”, referring to Trumps words. She then shifted to attack Spanberger, for not saying unequivocally that she would ask Jones, to withdraw from attorney general race.

The two candidates engaged in a lively back and forth at times, talking over eachother.

What did the candidates say about the shutdown of the federal government, data centers, energy prices, the economic concerns of young people, and each other

After regaining control, the moderators moved onto questions regarding the shutdown of the federal government.

Earle-Sears, when asked, said that if elected, she would work with Democrats and the president to end the shutdown of the federal government. Earle-Sears avoided the question, accusing Spanberger instead of playing “political soccer” with government employees.

Moderators asked Spanberger if, as a Virginia senator, she would encourage Virginia’s two Democratic Senators, Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine to vote for an end to the shutdown. She said that she would encourage all to work together in order to reopen federal government.

The next topic was data centers and their energy consumption. How can Virginians keep energy costs low while the data center energy demand is growing?

Spanberger stated that Virginia faces a problem in regards to energy production and that data centers should pay their fair share. She said that there was an active State Corporation Commission lawsuit and, in the meantime, the General Assembly might need to take action on this issue.

Earle-Sears attacked her opponent and laid the blame on the Virginia Clean Economy Act. She said that Virginia should adopt an “all-above” approach which includes “clean coal,” natural gas and nuclear energy.

A student from Norfolk State University asked the next question. She asked how candidates would make Virginia a place where students want to live and work after graduating.

Earle-Sears stated that Youngkin and she have created jobs in the state.

Spanberger attacked her opponent and said that she would address issues of economic concern, including the affordability of housing.

The moderators tried to lighten up the atmosphere by asking each candidate what they admire most about their opponent. Spanberger cited Earle-Sears as an immigrant, her faith, and the prison ministry that she founded. Earle-Sears emphasized Spanberger’s dedication as a mother, daughter, and someone who loves her parents. She also said that Spanberger is “caring.”

Now on to LGBTQ issues and access to reproductive healthcare

The moderators then asked Spanberger if it was acceptable for transgender girls to use the girl’s bathroom at school and participate in girls sports teams. Spanberger said that the decision is made by each community.

Earle-Sears is asked if she believes that her stance against transgender girls having access to sports and girls’ bathrooms was discriminatory. She replied that she does not support discrimination, and said “girls need privacy”, before turning to attack Spanberger. Moderators asked her if transgender students posed a threat to safety. She replied by saying that men are stronger than women and then turned to attack Spanberger.

Crosstalk followed. Spanberger noted that Earle Sears had stated that she was “morally against” gay marriage. She also said that Earle Sears believes it’s okay if a gay person is fired.

Earle-Sears replied by saying, “That’s not discrimination.”

The moderators pressed on with the abortion topic.

They noted that Earle Sears had supported a limit of 15 weeks on abortion, and also a limit of 6 weeks. They asked what she would advocate as governor. She replied that it was up to the commonwealth. Virginians can vote on the issue through a referendum, if the constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion access in the state passes a second round during the General Assembly session in 2026.

Spanberger is asked if abortion limits are acceptable. After Earle-Sears interrupted, Spanberger stated that she supported the Roe standard which would be codified in the constitutional amendment, as well as Virginia’s current law on abortion, which has limits for minors.

Candidates were asked if local law enforcement worked with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) to detain and expel undocumented migrants.

Spanberger answered that she would work with local law enforcement to support federal immigration and customs enforcement. She cited her experience as a federal officer of law enforcement and said that local agencies should work with federal agencies to arrest someone wanted for a crime if an arrest warrant is issued.

Earle-Sears is asked if it concerns her that people in communities with high immigration are less likely to report crimes, for fear of federal immigration enforcement and customs enforcement. She didn’t answer the question, but instead shifted to a criticism of Spanberger.

The debate has finally concluded with regards to education, marijuana legalization and Youngkin’s legacy

Earle-Sears answered yes when asked if parents were involved in the design of K-12 curriculum. She replied yes, but then shifted to an attack against Spanberger.

Spanberger answered that the parents or government should determine which books are in the schools. She replied that parent involvement is important, and she supports public schools. She then shifted to an attack against Earle-Sears.

Marijuana

Spanberger answered the question about her concerns for public safety regarding legal retail sales. She stated that transparency was important, and that a regulated cannabis market was necessary to maintain safety.

Earle-Sears is asked if, if she signed a bill legalizing the sale of recreational cannabis. She stated that she believed in the medicinal benefits of marijuana, and that if her employees tested positive for the drug they would no longer be able to work for her. She then shifted to an attack against Spanberger.

The last question was about the legacy of the current governor. Earle-Sears, when asked what she would do differently than Youngkin in the future, deflected that question.

Spanberger was then asked if she would continue any of Youngkin’s policies. She replied that he had made a solid path forward in advanced nuclear.

The debate on Thursday was the only one in which both candidates agreed.