Winsome Sears, the first black woman elected as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, speaks out on race, CRT, election integrity

Winsome Sears, an immigrant, veteran, business owner, and the first black woman to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, is bucking identity politics and touting common-sense policies on education, election integrity, Critical Race Theory, and how the country can move forward from its current divided state.

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Quick Facts

• Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears said her run for office wasn’t to make history, but to “leave it better than I found it.”
• Since winning her election, she has spoken out repeatedly on Critical Race Theory (CRT), saying, “We don’t have time to teach about oppression, that the child is a victim,” and added, “I am proof we are progressing.”
• She also spoke on elections and photo ID, saying that the ballot box must be sacrosanct.

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Whenever there is some kind of “first” in politics, people say that “history was made,” but Winsome Sears actually did achieve a truly historic feat when she became the first black woman elected as Virginia’s lieutenant governor and the first to hold statewide office.

Yet that’s not how Sears sees her accomplishment. “I didn’t run to make history, I ran to leave it [the state] better than I found it,” she said. 

“It doesn’t mean all of those things to me, I just see me as me,” she added. “It’s probably a good thing because then I might get the big head.”

When her family immigrated from Jamaica, her father had just $1.75 to his name but he worked hard and became successful (he is now retired). Sears also seized on the possibilities that the land of opportunity offered her, joining the Marine Corps, working as a licensed electrician, eventually starting her own appliance and plumbing repair business, and becoming a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates.

She explained, “I want people to understand that I didn’t do anything special to become lieutenant governor of Virginia; all I did was stay in school and study. Prepare, prepare, prepare — that’s all I did because I want the little girls and boys to know that if I can do it, [they can do it.]”

Those experiences seem to have shaped her view on issues related to race, such as the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools. “Let’s talk about what’s really happening. Our children are not learning. We don’t have time to teach about oppression, that the child is a victim, that the white kids are the oppressors. We don’t have time in a school day for that,” Sears said.

“I am proof we are progressing. I am an immigrant and in the former capital of the Confederacy; I’m second in command of eight-point some million people,” Sears added. “When are we going to say, ‘We can make it, we are making it?’ Let’s look at life as being overcomers. This, too, we will overcome. Say that to black and brown children and all other children. Say that to them instead of constantly being divisive. Martin Luther King Jr., that’s what he would have wanted.”

She is also rocking the boat on election security, calling out Democrats on voter ID after the party, which wants to outlaw the widely popular measure, required photo identification to enter one of their fundraising events.

“I thought you said you were for the little people, you know?” Sears said. “So, if a photo ID is required to enter your event as Democrats, then why shouldn’t you have a photo ID to come to the polls?” She also pointed out that in New York a photo ID is required with proof of vaccination to enter a restaurant.

“Listen, we must have the ballot box, the polling, be sacrosanct. We must know who’s coming to the polls. It’s disingenuous, and it’s just another divisive measure.”

Sears and her family are living proof that America is a land of freedom and opportunity, where with hard work and a positive outlook, anyone can achieve their dreams and even make history. Despite all the talk of America’s systemic racism, Virginians were overwhelmingly willing to vote for the best candidate for the job in this past election. Sears was elected because she boasts great credentials, great character, and great policy ideas. Winsome Sears is quite simply a great American and she shows her love for her country, her constituents, and her community in everything she says and does. 

Her election is clear evidence this nation has come a long way since the days of segregation. 

So where is the left’s celebration of Sears? Unfortunately, despite her impressive résumé, her compelling personal story, and her very bright future as a leader, the media has given Sears very little coverage, and her election and recent inauguration were virtually ignored in left-wing circles. There’s no doubt that as she stands up for her principles in her new role, Sears will likely receive the same vitriolic treatment as other black conservatives and conservative women. But that won’t stop her. No matter the hurdles, she will continue to move forward with grit, resilience, talent, hard work, and optimism.

As she herself recently told Fox News,

“I am the embodiment of what we’re trying to achieve in America. We want everyone to have equal opportunity. And here I sit today to say it can happen. I am so tired of those who look at life as being the glass is half empty. What a negative way to continue to view life because you know, life is going to hit you hard and you have to be prepared for it. You come out of the womb screaming. That ought to be an indication of how things are going to be. The rich suffer — yes —  the poor suffer, and everybody in between, [but] we can make it. We CAN make it.”