Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears said Tuesday that "common sense ideas" are a driving force behind the state turning red, telling Newsmax that she and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have shown that Republicans "do right by the people."
Donald Trump's presidential campaign believes Virginia is in play in November despite no Republican candidate winning the state in a general election since George W. Bush in 2004. Buoyed by a poll that shows Trump tied with President Joe Biden in the state, Trump's campaign announced it was opening 11 field offices. Further, Trump will stump in the state on Friday, the day after the first debate, and will be joined by Youngkin.
Youngkin became the first Republican to win a statewide election since 2009 when he upset Terry McAuliffe in Virginia's gubernatorial race in 2021.
"Because we came with common sense ideas, you know, we were elected," Sears said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," adding that she and Youngkin took aim at "bedrock issues."
"We were going to make sure there was safety and security in our homes, so we weren't going to defund the police. And in fact, we fulfill that promise because we decompress their pay and gave them even more money on top of that, when it comes to law enforcement," Sears said.
"Then when it came to family issues, we made sure that we were not going to have policies that separated parents from their children when it came to schools," she told Schmitt. "We weren't going to send a boy child to school. And then, you know, they have different policies where he's a girl and then you just have him sent back home as if nothing happened. And the parent knows nothing about that. We weren't going to have that."
"And so it's no wonder that you see there's a change because they see that Republicans will do right by the people," Sears added.
Trump's decision to visit Virginia the day after the debate has led to speculation that Youngkin could be a dark horse pick as Trump's running mate.
"Well, I don't want to be biased, but I've served with him. And the facts are the facts," Sears said. "So I'm not surprised that — and I don't know if he is or isn't being considered; I really don't know. But he's a fair man and he's a smart man."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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