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LGBTQ+ advocates warn that elevating the lieutenant governor to the governorship would be detrimental to the community.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican candidate for governor in 2025, has positioned herself as a champion of far-right social policies, aligning with an extremist agenda targeting LGBTQ+ protections, reproductive rights, and divorce laws, LGBTQ+ advocates say. As she seeks to secure the commonwealth’s chief executive office, activists warn that she would take the increasingly progressive state backward.
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In a speech delivered at The Family Foundation of Virginia’s Faith Unwavering gala on September 28, Earle-Sears, the first Black woman to hold statewide office in Virginia, praised the group’s decades-long advocacy for socially conservative policies and vowed to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with its efforts. The Family Foundation published a video of her remarks on November 13, The Advocate has confirmed.
Related: Virginia lieutenant governor offers awkward 'apology' after misgendering trans lawmaker Danica Roem
The Family Foundation, a religious nonprofit with deep ties to the Christian fundamentalist group Focus on the Family, has pushed policies that include banning abortion, repealing no-fault divorce laws, and opposing marriage equality. The group has also fought to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people, including filing a legal challenge in 2024 to overturn Virginia’s ban on anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy — a widely discredited and harmful practice. In her speech, Earle-Sears called the organization “a voice for the voiceless” and described its policies as “all very necessary.” “You’re not alone in this fight. I’m here with you. I’m standing shoulder to shoulder,” she declared.
The lieutenant governor’s point of view has drawn sharp condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocates. James Millner, a Richmond-based activist, told The Advocate: “If elected, Winsome Earle-Sears would be the most anti-LGBTQ and anti-reproductive freedom Governor ever to lead Virginia. She opposes same-sex marriage, misgendered a transgender legislator on the floor of the Virginia Senate, and appeared in a campaign ad with a pastor who called homosexuality, abortion, and [transgender identities] ‘the work of the devil.’”
The lieutenant governor’s ties to The Family Foundation are in line with her political record. In 2003, as a Virginia House delegate, Earle-Sears voted to create “covenant marriages” that would have made it harder for couples—especially those with children—to obtain a no-fault divorce. The Virginian-Pilot reported at the time that the bill, which required counseling and waiting periods, ultimately failed in the state Senate.
Earle-Sears’ embrace of The Family Foundation’s agenda also mirrors the group’s extremist stance on reproductive rights. The organization celebrated the fall of Roe v. Wade and has advocated for fetal personhood laws, a legal theory that threatens access to in-vitro fertilization. In October, The Family Foundation published blog posts referring to IVF as “child trafficking” and accusing parents who use fertility treatments of being “selfish.” Similar personhood arguments were used by Alabama’s Supreme Court earlier this year, resulting in a halt to IVF services in the state.
Earle-Sears’ position on LGBTQ+ issues has been consistent throughout her career. In 2004, during her campaign for Congress, she wrote in a Daily Press op-ed that “society has gone immeasurably beyond all standards in accommodating the homosexual community” and called for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide. The Family Foundation has waged a long-standing fight to oppose marriage equality, which the group has labeled “radical and unbiblical.” In February, Earle-Sears misgendered Virginia state Sen. Danica Roem, a transgender legislator, during a session of the senate, calling her “sir” before later apologizing, The Hill reported.
“She is on record stating that society has gone too far in ‘accommodating the homosexual community’ and suggested that the Black civil rights movement had been hijacked by LGBTQ advocates,” Millner added.
Earle-Sears’ hardline positions stand in stark contrast to those of Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who has emerged as a champion of equality and reproductive freedom. Speaking to The Advocate at Equality Virginia’s Commonwealth Dinner in October, Spanberger emphasized her commitment to restoring protections for LGBTQ+ youth and families in Virginia that have been rolled back under Republican leadership.
“One of my top priorities is returning us to a place where we respect kids, respect educators, and respect families,” Spanberger told The Advocate. She criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2023 model policies in education, which restrict transgender students’ rights, as harmful and divisive. “Families need to know they have someone who respects their child, sees the beauty in their child, and is working to ensure that their child can thrive,” she said.
Spanberger’s record reflects her consistent support for LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive healthcare. In Congress, she voted for the Equality Act and marriage equality legislation, underscoring her belief that “every kid deserves to feel like they belong.” “We have to show up for them at the ballot box, in the classroom, and at the state level,” she told The Advocate.
“Virginia currently has the strongest LGBTQ and reproductive protections of any state in the South,” Millner said. “As governor, if given the chance, there is no question that Sears would shred those freedoms and, in so doing, obliterate Virginia’s reputation as a welcoming, inclusive Commonwealth.”
Representatives for Earle-Sears did not respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.
Watch Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speak at the Family Foundation’s September gala below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
