RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Democrat Hala Ayala and Republican Winsome Sears are vying to be Virginia’s next lieutenant governor, a part-time post with a vital role in the commonwealth. The candidates have outlined vastly different campaign agendas, making where they stand on issues clear and providing an idea of where they may land on tie-breaking votes in the Virginia Senate. The official duties of Virginia’s lieutenant governor are to preside over the state Senate as the president of the 40-member chamber and to succeed the governor if they were to leave office before their term is over. The lieutenant governor casts tie-breaking votes when state senators are split on a measure and can make rulings on disputes between lawmakers. The job is mainly an administrative role, but one seen as a springboard to the Executive Mansion. Gov. Ralph Northam and two former Virginia governors, Sen Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Douglas Wilder, all served as lieutenant governor before taking the commonwealth’s top elected office. This year’s winner will make history as the first woman of color to hold statewide office in Virginia and the first woman to serve as the commonwealth’s lieutenant governor. Hala Ayala Del. Hala Ayala (D-Prince William), a cybersecurity specialist at the Department of Homeland Security, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017. Ayala, chief deputy whip in the Virginia House, backs expanding Pre-K, funding for school infrastructure and co-patroned legislation to provide free community college to students pursuing jobs in high-demand fields. She has also called for more gun-control measures, including a ban on “ghost guns” and more restrictions for convicted domestic abusers. On the campaign trail, Ayala has touted her work on bills to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty and expunge non-violent marijuana charges. A member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Ayala worked to help expand Medicaid in the commonwealth and believes access should be expanded even further. Ayala has raised over $6 million this election cycle, dwarfing the more than $2.5 million brought in by Sears during her own run. If she loses against Sears, Ayala will not return to the Virginia House as she did not run for re-election. Read more: Winsome SearsWinsome Sears, the first Black Republican woman to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly, represented Norfolk in the House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004. Sears has laid out several campaign proposals on her website, many of which are identical to the ideas Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor, has pitched: eliminating the grocery tax, providing a one-time tax rebate, firing the entire state parole board. While her support for Youngkin’s plans isn’t surprising, it does show how aligned Sears is with the gubernatorial candidate. The GOP lieutenant governor candidate also aims to push for a Black Virginians advisory cabinet to the governor if elected and has called for a once-in-a-generation investment in Historically Black Colleges & Universities, according to Sears’ campaign website. Sears, who emigrated from Jamaica when she was a child and served in the Marines before running for office, failed to unseat Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) in a 2004 congressional run. She served on the Virginia Board of Education and was appointed to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans by then-President George W. Bush. Like the other candidates on the GOP ticket, Sears seeks to become the first Republican to win statewide in Virginia since 2009. Read more: FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Republican Winsome Sears will become the first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of color to hold statewide office in Virginia. Sears defeated Democrat Hala Ayala in Tuesday’s election. Sears rocketed out of political obscurity to win the GOP nomination on the strength of a campaign photo in which she posed holding a military rifle. A former Marine, she also highlighted her background as a Jamaican immigrant, campaigning against illegal immigration. Sears had a brief stint in electoral politics nearly 20 years ago as a one-term delegate in the General Assembly, representing parts of Hampton Roads. Ayala also would have become the first female lieutenant governor and woman of color to hold statewide office if she had won. Copyright 2021 WWBT. All rights reserved. Send it to 12 here. Want NBC12’s top stories in your inbox each morning? Subscribe here.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Republican Winsome Sears, who returned to Virginia politics after an absence of nearly two decades, has become the first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of color to win statewide office in Virginia. The Republican rocketed out of political obscurity to win the GOP nomination on the strength of a campaign photo in which she posed holding a military rifle. A former Marine, Sears also highlighted her background as a Jamaican immigrant, campaigning against illegal immigration and rejecting the notion that the nation is plagued by systemic racism. WATCH: Republican Glenn Youngkin speaks after winning Virginia governor’s race Sears had a brief stint in electoral politics 20 years ago as a one-term delegate in the General Assembly, representing parts of Hampton Roads. Her return to politics after a two-decade absence began when she served as national chairperson for Black Americans to Re-Elect President Trump. Sears defeated Democrat Hala Ayala in Tuesday’s election. Ayala also would have been the first female lieutenant governor and first woman of color to hold statewide office if she had won. Sears will succeed Democrat Justin Fairfax, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. The marquee election Tuesday was the gubernatorial race, which Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin won, defeating former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Early Wednesday, Sears stood with her family in front of cheering supporters at a victory party in Chantilly, saying, “What you are looking at is the American Dream.” For attorney general, Democrat Mark Herring was seeking a third term against Republican Jason Miyares, a delegate from Virginia Beach. Herring would be the first attorney general to win a third term since World War II. The race was still too early to call. Miyares, the son of a Cuban immigrant, also declared victory early Wednesday, saying he is now the first Latino to be elected statewide in Virginia. “I can’t wait to go to work with Governor Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Sears for you,” Miyares said. Herring had not conceded defeat early Wednesday morning. Tuesday night, at a Republican party attended by both Youngkin and Sears, supporters were upbeat, singing, waving signs and starting to dance. While the watch party had yet to erupt in a victory celebration, there was enough volume and movement to make the floor of the second-floor ballroom shake occasionally. Democrats, on the other hand, cleared out quickly from a joint party with statewide candidates after McAuliffe made an appearance and simply stated that votes still remained to be counted without claiming victory or conceding defeat. Jurisdictions throughout the state reported high turnout, with roughly 3.3 million ballots tallied by 3 a.m. Wednesday. That greatly exceeded the 2.6 million ballots cast in the last gubernatorial election in 2017, which itself was a high turnout year. The turnout in 2017 was in part a backlash to Donald Trump’s 2016 election. Democrats swept all three statewide elections in 2017. Republicans have struggled in Virginia over the past decade — Democrats have won every statewide election since 2009. But all three Republican candidates this year are threatening to break that streak. Both the attorney general and the lieutenant governor posts have served as launching pads to the governor’s mansion. Half of the past 10 lieutenant governors in Virginia have gone on to be governor. The previous nine elected attorneys general all ran for governor. ___ |
Who is running for lieutenant governor in virginia
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