Virginia gubernatorial candidate Dave LaRock argued that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is not the right candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination, claiming that she has “rendered herself unelectable” in the months since announcing her candidacy.
LaRock, a former member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, announced his bid for the governor’s mansion at the end of last month, almost six months after Sears became the first Republican lawmaker to enter Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial race. While LaRock said he supported Sears’s bid initially, he has since joined the race to give Virginia voters an alternative candidate in the primary.
“But as we approach this governor’s race, I paid close attention to Winsome Sears, whom I supported when she first ran, probably one of her most enthusiastic supporters,” LaRock said on Fox 5 DC’s The Final 5. “I watched while she was in office, have watched her still in office, obviously, and I came to the conclusion, with many other people from around the Commonwealth, that she has rendered herself unelectable, which is, makes it pretty serious given that we absolutely have to win the governor’s seat here in Virginia.”
LaRock is entering the 2025 race as President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency are working to minimize waste in the federal government. LaRock deemed this “exciting” and something he wanted to bring to Virginia. He argued that this policy is “one of the big contrasts” between himself and Sears, saying that her campaign website is only made up of “personality pictures.”
Sears’s campaign was unfazed by LaRock’s comments.
“The threat of Abigail Spanberger driving Virginia backwards with radical, leftist policies demands a serious candidate and proven winner — that’s Winsome,” press secretary Peyton Vogel told the Washington Examiner. “She’ll win any prospective primary and defeat Spanberger in November.”
The former delegate also criticized Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, saying he is “doing some good things lately” but added that he was confused over some of the governor’s actions. LaRock noted how the governor deputized state police to enforce legal immigration. Specifically, LaRock questioned why Youngkin did not take this action earlier in his gubernatorial term and pointed to why Virginia has sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.
“This is not a new issue, so I just contrast myself to the governor, to Lieutenant Governor Sears, and say, ‘look, we need action, not talk,’” LaRock said.
Virginia gubernatorial candidates need at least 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, including 400 signatures from each congressional district within the state, by April 3. When asked how his campaign’s signature collection is going, LaRock said it is “coming along well” and acknowledged that “10,000’s a big number.”
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Both Sears and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is running as a Democratic candidate in the 2025 gubernatorial election, announced last week that they had reached enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
LaRock is not the only Republican candidate seeking to challenge Sears in the primary. Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase has also entered the race, calling herself a “Trump in Heels” candidate.