Virginia Republicans are offering voters one of the most paradoxical statewide tickets in recent memory. Winsome Earle-Sears, the state’s Black lieutenant governor and now the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, is running alongside John Reid, a white, gay conservative radio host seeking the lieutenant governorship. Reid’s longtime partner, Alonzo Mable, who is Black, serves on Virginia’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.
The ticket is historic in its visibility—Reid would be Virginia’s first out gay statewide officeholder and Earle-Sears the first woman governor—but it also highlights stark contradictions. Earle-Sears has a long record of opposing the very rights that Reid and Mable embody as a couple.
A record of opposition
In 2004, while running for Congress, Earle-Sears completed a questionnaire from Public Advocate of the United States, a northern Virginia–based far-right group known for pushing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. According to archived survey results, first reported by Virginia Mercury, she pledged to stop same-sex couples from adopting children, to refuse to hire what the survey described as “homosexual activists,” and to block any effort by same-sex couples to receive tax benefits through joint filings. She said she would reject support from “the homosexual lobby,” back a federal constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, oppose adding sexual orientation to nondiscrimination laws, and vote against hate crimes protections.
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The survey further asked whether homosexuality is “an immoral lifestyle choice,” to which she answered yes. She also said she would support impeaching judges who “legislate the homosexual agenda from the bench.”
Two decades later, echoes of that opposition remain. Last year, while presiding over the Virginia Senate, Earle-Sears signed a bipartisan marriage equality measure but wrote in the official record that she was “morally opposed.”
Her public appearances reinforce those views. Earle-Sears addressed Regent University’s 2025 commencement, where school policies explicitly denounce homosexuality, and she is slated to appear at Atlantic Shores Christian School, which bars LGBTQ students. She has also praised The Family Foundation, a conservative group opposed to abortion rights, no-fault divorce, and marriage equality.
Earle-Sears’s time as lieutenant governor has also featured public clashes over LGBTQ+ respect. In 2024, she misgendered Sen. Danica Roem, Virginia’s first out transgender state senator, during a Senate session. Though she offered a brief apology, the incident highlighted the dismissiveness that queer and trans Virginians still encounter in state government.
Reid and Mable’s visibility
Reid’s candidacy has been both a milestone and a controversy. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin urged him to withdraw earlier this year after allegations circulated linking him to explicit online content, which Reid denied. He accused Republican insiders of attempting to extort him and refused to step aside.
Mable has become an increasingly visible figure in the campaign. Beyond appearing with Reid at events, Mable serves on Virginia’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, which ostensibly advises state leaders on policies affecting queer residents.
Democratic contrast
Democrats are framing the GOP ticket as a study in contradiction while presenting their own slate as an alternative. At an Emily’s List event in May, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, told The Advocate that protecting LGBTQ+ Virginians has been central to her legislative work.
Related: Winsome Earle-Sears: The anti-LGBTQ+ ultraconservative Republican trying to replace Virginia’s governor
“I’ve been on the forefront of protecting our LGBTQ community as chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health,” Hashmi said. “All of the bills that attack our LGBTQ children in our schools have come through the committee. We’ve been able to defeat that legislation. This is a matter of fundamental human rights and civil rights. Everybody deserves the opportunity to live with dignity and full equality. And we’ve got a constitutional amendment on marriage equality, and I’m confident that we’re going to pass it.”
Emily’s List, a national political action committee that works to elect pro-choice Democratic women, has endorsed Hashmi as part of its push to build progressive leadership nationwide. With former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger leading the governor’s race, Democrats are touting the possibility of Virginia’s first all-female statewide ticket.
Virginians deserve a Governor who will always stand up for their fundamental freedoms. It's clear from Winsome Earle-Sears’ long record that she can't be trusted to do that,” Democratic Party of Virginia spokesperson Maggie Amjad told The Advocate.
Spanberger currently leads in both polling and fundraising.
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