Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announces her candidacy for Governor

Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle Sears, a native of Kingston, Jamaica,  announced Sept. 5, that she is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Virginia in 2025.

Sears immigrated to the United States with her family when she was six.. She is proud to have served in the United States Marine Corps. In addition to her various appointments, she has served as the Vice President of the Virginia State Board of Education; and as a presidential appointee to the US Census Bureau, as co-chair of the African American Committee; and the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Winsome was first elected in 2002 to a majority Black House of Delegates district, a first for a Republican in Virginia since 1865. She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first Black female elected to statewide office. As Lieutenant Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears presides over the Senate when it is in session.

A former program manager for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and VISTA volunteer, Winsome is a trained electrician and successful businesswoman.
According to her announcement, she is most proud of her community work leading a men’s prison ministry and as director of a women’s homeless shelter.

She holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Economics, and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership, with a concentration in Government.

Winsome and her husband, Terence, have two daughters Katia and Janel, in addition to DeJon, and granddaughters Victoria and Faith, who are now looking into the face of God.