Virginia Police Association backs Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor – Washington Examiner
The Virginia Police Benevolent Association (PBA) has endorsed Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor over her Republican opponent, Lt.Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Even though the PBA’s endorsement of Spanberger is notable, the institution maintains a non-partisan approach, having also supported Republican candidates John Reid for lieutenant governor and Jason Miyares for attorney general. The PBA praised Spanberger for her congressional record, highlighting her efforts to increase funding for local police and to secure benefits for retired officers through the Social Security Fairness Act.
This endorsement challenges Earle-Sears’s campaign narrative that Spanberger is anti-police. Earle-Sears has criticized Spanberger at campaign events, accusing her of wanting to take away gun rights and implying she would weaken law enforcement response. The PBA’s decision is meaningful because it previously supported Earle-Sears in her successful 2021 lieutenant governor campaign and generally tends to favor Republicans, though it supports candidates from both parties.
Earle-Sears has struggled with campaign support and polling, as Spanberger currently leads by significant margins in Virginia polls. The PBA’s backing of Spanberger represents another setback for Earle-Sears amid growing doubts within Republican circles about her viability as a candidate.
Virginia Police Association backs Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor
The Virginia Police Benevolent Association gave its endorsement to Democrat Abigail Spanberger over her Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
The PBA’s endorsement wasn’t partisan, as it also said it would support Republican John Reid for lieutenant governor and Republican Jason Miyares for attorney general. The PBA previously endorsed Earle-Sears for lieutenant governor in 2021, when she won.
In its endorsement for Spanberger, the PBA said that while in Congress, she had voted “to increase funding for local police departments and sheriff’s offices — and she was relentless in pushing her bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act across the finish line to secure the earned benefits of thousands of Virginia’s retired police officers.”
The endorsement is the latest of many blows to the Earle-Sears campaign, undercutting her argument that Spanberger is anti-police.
“When we call 911, we say there’s a burglar, who’s going to get us? Exactly, they’re not going to come, there’s nobody. And we’re not even going to be able to have our guns. Because Abigail is going to get rid of our [Second Amendment] rights. Can we afford her? No. No. I mean, all across the board, this woman is crazy. She’s absolutely crazy,” Earle-Sears said at a campaign rally earlier this month, referring to Spanberger.
SPANBERGER STILL AHEAD OF EARLE-SEARS AFTER TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE
The failure to secure the nomination of the PBA, which represents 11,000 officers, is particularly notable for Earle-Sears, as it backed Spanberger’s Republican opponent in her 2020 congressional election. The PBA has a history of supporting both parties but has tended to endorse more Republicans in recent years.
Earle-Sears’s campaign has been plagued by doubts from fellow Republicans for months. She has struggled in polling, increasingly so as time goes along. RealClearPolitics has Spanberger up by an average of 7.5% in its Virginia gubernatorial election poll, while the latest accredited poll from Virginia Commonwealth University had Spanberger leading by 12%.
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