Debate Heat: Earle-Sears Forces Spanberger Into the Spotlight
- Winsome Earle-Sears pressed Abigail Spanberger hard on condemning violent rhetoric from a fellow Democrat.
- Spanberger repeatedly avoided direct answers and failed to look her opponent in the eye, Republicans say.
- The clash sharpened contrasts on law and order, transgender policy, and loyalty to conservative priorities.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears came out swinging against what she called former Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s dodges on calls for fellow Democrat Jay Jones to drop out of the attorney general contest after texts envisioning the murder of a Republican leader came to light.
Throughout the debate, Spanberger mostly declined to make eye contact with Earle-Sears and ignored her when she was interrupted, reinforcing a GOP narrative that Democrats won’t hold their own accountable.
Earle-Sears repeatedly addressed Spanberger directly during both women’s answers but did not receive any direct responses in return, and the perception of dodge-and-deflect stuck.
Early on, Earle-Sears interrupted Spanberger, asking her to give a direct answer. The Democrat told the moderators she was “aware of these messages” and that they were “absolutely abhorrent.”
“I denounced them when I learned of them and I will denounce them every chance I get,” Spanberger said, as Earle-Sears interjected once more to attempt to press for a straight answer.
“I didn’t hear an answer on [the Jones] question,” co-moderator Deanna Albrittin told Spanberger, pointing out the vacuum of accountability on stage.
Since Earle-Sears had already called for Jones to drop out, the moderators asked her instead about President Donald Trump’s stated “hate” for political opponents after the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Earle-Sears later turned to Spanberger and admonished her for refusing to give a yes-or-no answer on Jones, asking whether it would take Jones “pulling the trigger” to actually condemn what he had said about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah.
The Republican was later asked whether she needs Trump’s endorsement, and about a racist sign at an Arlington protest aimed at Earle-Sears’ bathroom policy. Earle-Sears criticized Spanberger for waiting days to condemn that sign.
The sign said that Earle-Sears should not be able to share water fountains (as a Black woman) if transgender students cannot share bathrooms, exposing extreme rhetoric on the left that fellow Democrats hesitated to repudiate.
Moderator Tom Schaad asked whether transgender girls born male should be able to use female bathrooms and be on co-ed sports teams, and Spanberger answered by stressing safety and her law enforcement background.
“That work, in part, has earned me the endorsement of the Police Benevolent Association,” she said, noting credentials she believes justify her stance.
Schaad reiterated the question and later pushed whether Spanberger would rescind Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s executive order on bathrooms along biological lines, a central culture battle in Virginia.
“My opponent will not answer the question because she voted for men nude in girls’ locker rooms,” Earle-Sears later said, leaning into a line meant to sharpen contrasts for conservative voters.
After the debate, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, Jr., D-Portsmouth, defended Spanberger and accused Republicans of a double standard over violent rhetoric.
Scott claimed Earle-Sears did not vociferously condemn Trump for a 2024 remark, quoting the president: “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
The Trump campaign noted coverage and context, while fact-checkers parsed intent, but Republicans emphasized the need for clear condemnations of threats. Fox News Digital reached out to the Earle-Sears campaign for comment on the debate and stage behavior.
“If you’re wondering who’s capable of leading Virginia, this was the debate to watch,” Earle-Sears spokesperson Peyton Vogel told Fox News Digital.
“Abigail Spanberger couldn’t even look Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears in the eye and confirmed she will not stand up to Jay Jones’ threat-laced, murderous rhetoric.”
“If she can’t lead her own ticket, she can’t lead the Commonwealth,” Vogel said, a closing shot aimed squarely at undecided voters looking for toughness and clarity.
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