Winsome Sears Will Be First Woman of Color in Virginia’s Lt. Gov. History

Politics

By ShaCamree Gowdy Published: November 3, 2021

Winsome Sears Will Be First Woman of Color in Virginia’s Lt. Gov. History

Lt. Gov. Gov.-elect Winsome Sears arrives to speak before Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin at an election night party in Chantilly, Va., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, after he defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In Summary

Winsome Sears has made history as the first female and first woman of color to serve as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor.

The gubernatorial victory of Republican Glenn Youngkin against Democrat incumbent Terry McAuliffe halts a years-long trend of Democratic wins in Virginia, but Winsome Sears is creating history in her own right.

Sears is set to serve as the state’s next lieutenant governor alongside Youngkin, making her the first female and first woman of color in the state’s 400-year legislative history to do so, per CNN.

While she is making history, Sears has minimized the impact of race on her political views and lauded the development of equality for Black Americans, saying she didn’t run to make history but to leave Virginia better than she found it.

“In case you have not noticed, I am Black and I have been Black all my life. But that is not what this is about. What we are going to do is we are going to now be about the business of the commonwealth. We have things to tend to,” she said Wednesday morning as she also acknowledged the elections of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris. “We’re going to have safer neighborhoods; safer communities and our children are going to get a good education.”

Born in Jamaica, Sears was the first Black Republican woman elected to the Virginia General Assembly, serving in the 90^th district for one term from 2002 to 2006. She was the national chair of Black Americans Making America First, a group that supports former President Donald Trump’s programs, and she has also defended the former president in the wake of controversy and racial remarks.

She’s also a Marine veteran, former vice president of the Virginia Board of Education and a business owner.

Sears has previously demonstrated that her thoughts and opinions are her own and not those of her party, despite being a Republican. She has chastised Republicans who support the Confederate flag and has termed critical race theory racist, though she does believe both the good and ugly sides of American history should be taught in schools, per CNN.