Earle-Sears releases new ad targeting Spanberger ‘rage’ comment
The article reports that Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) has released a digital attack advertisement targeting her gubernatorial opponent, former Democratic rep. Abigail Spanberger. The one-minute ad, titled “RAGE,” highlights a comment from Spanberger urging supporters to “let your rage fuel you,” contrasting it with Virginia’s tourism slogan “Virginia is for lovers, not rage.” The ad includes montages of news headlines on political violence and references recent violent incidents, implying Spanberger’s rhetoric is reckless. Spanberger’s campaign responds that the clip is taken out of context, explaining the phrase meant motivating political engagement through peaceful actions like canvassing and writing postcards. Both campaigns have condemned recent politically motivated threats and violence,while the ad battle reflects escalating tensions as Election Day approaches on November 4.
Earle-Sears releases new ad targeting Spanberger ‘rage’ comment
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) released a new attack ad against her opponent, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, as the race to be Virginia’s next governor continues to heat up almost one month from Election Day.
Earle-Sears launched a one-minute, digital-only advertisement with the phrase “Virginia is for lovers. Not rage,” juxtaposing the state’s motto against a resurfaced clip of Spanberger, the current front-runner, telling a crowd, “Let your rage fuel you.” The ad, titled “RAGE,” runs montages of news headlines on political violence, mugshots of suspected political assassins like Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, and Spanberger’s comments on “rage.”
Earle-Sears resurfaced a video of Spanberger telling supporters to “let your rage fuel you” during a speech at a Northern Virginia event in June. Earle-Sears posted the video on X on the same day that a sniper killed one and injured two people at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, Texas.
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Spanberger’s campaign says the clip has been taken out of context.
“Abigail has and will continue to condemn comments that attempt to make light of or justify political violence of any kind — full stop,” A Spanberger campaign spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “Abigail has a long record of working across party lines to get things done, and she will continue to bring people together as Virginia’s next Governor.”
In the full video that the Earle-Sears ad clipped, Spanberger tells the audience that her mother said to “let your rage fuel you” when upset about something political. She told the crowd to let upsetting political headlines motivate them, saying, “We write more postcards, we knock more doors, we make more phone calls, we tell more friends about the importance of this election.”
In the advertisement, Earle-Sears calls Spanberger “reckless” and “radical.”
“Abigail Spanberger’s call for her supporters to channel their rage is reckless and deeply irresponsible,” Earle-Sears campaign spokeswoman Peyton Vogel said. “We’ve seen conservatives and their families targeted with threats and violence. Leaders have a moral obligation to de-escalate, not inflame.”
The new video ad is the latest hit in a slew of campaign advertisements in the gubernatorial race, in which the two candidates try to paint the other as radical.
A Virginia Democrats advertisement that originally aired five months ago calls Earle-Sears “so far-right, she’s wrong for Virginia.” The video ad focuses on Earle-Sears’s anti-abortion views and shows an image of the Marine Corps veteran carrying an assault-style rifle.
Earle-Sears’s “RAGE” advertisement comes as political officials across the nation call on Americans to turn down the political temperature in the wake of recent violent attacks, such as Kirk’s assassination. President Donald Trump has criticized the “radical left” for its rhetoric.
After a Virginia man was arrested on Thursday for sending a death threat to Del. Kim Taylor (R-VA), both Earle-Sears and Spanberger swiftly condemned the attack on X.
The Spanberger campaign has also rejected Taylor’s claims that Spanberger’s “let your rage fuel you” quote led to the delegate receiving a politically motivated death threat.
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“Abigail has used that phrase to encourage supporters to write postcards and knock doors,” a Spanberger spokesperson told the Petersburg Progress-Index. “And I think it is important context for readers to know that is how she has used that phrase.”
Early voting has started in Virginia, with Election Day just over a month away on Nov. 4.
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