Government/ Politics: WINSOME EARLE-SEARS

Earle-Sears made Virginia history last year when she was elected to the office of lieutenant governor — as the first woman to serve in the position, as well as the first woman of color and Jamaican-born person elected to statewide office in the commonwealth. As lieutenant governor, her primary duty is to break ties in the Virginia State Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats.

It isn’t the Republican’s first time in political office, however, as she represented Norfolk in the House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004 — defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent. Earle-Sears later made unsuccessful bids for Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District in 2004 and for the U.S. Senate in 2018. 

Outside of her political career, she served in the U.S. Marine Corps and spent much of the past decade as president and owner of Shenandoah Appliance, Plumbing & Electric in Winchester. 

Gun rights were a key component of her 2021 campaign, and she made national headlines for posing with an assault-style rifle in ads. Earle-Sears faced pushback from Democratic lawmakers this summer when she delivered a speech at a National Rifle Association luncheon in Houston, just weeks after several mass shootings, including the Robb Elementary School attack in Uvalde, Texas.