{"id":2496196,"date":"2025-10-08T12:31:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rga-dumps-1-5-million-in-virginia-governor-race\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T12:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:32:10","slug":"rga-dumps-1-5-million-in-virginia-governor-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rga-dumps-1-5-million-in-virginia-governor-race\/","title":{"rendered":"RGA dumps $1.5 million in Virginia governor race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frga-dumps-1-5-million-in-virginia-governor-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2496196&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Republican Governors Association (RGA) has injected $1.5 million into Virginia&#8217;s gubernatorial race to support Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears against Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger. This contribution brings the RGA&#8217;s total investment in the race to $5 million, matching the Democratic Governors Association&#8217;s spending aimed at flipping the governorship to the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>The RGA&#8217;s involvement comes amid controversy surrounding Democratic <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >attorney general<\/a> candidate Jay Jones, who faced backlash for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-calls-on-jay-jones-to-drop-out-of-virginia-attorney-general-race-after-violent-text-messages-leak\/\" title=\"Vance calls on ... to drop out of Virginia ... ... after violent ... leak\">violent text messages<\/a> threatening political opponents.While Spanberger condemned the messages, she did not call for Jones to withdraw from the race, a stance criticized by Republicans who have pressed Democrats to distance themselves from him.<\/p>\n<p>Earle-Sears&#8217;s campaign has used the controversy to attack Democrats, accusing them of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/right-and-left-alike-slam-eric-greitens-for-begging-for-political-violence-with-rino-hunting-ad\/\" title=\"Right And Left Alike Slam Eric Greitens For \u2018Begging For Political Violence\u2019 With \u2018RINO Hunting\u2019 Ad\">promoting political violence<\/a>. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, seeking reelection, has also launched a $1.5 million ad campaign highlighting Jones&#8217;s texts.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the Republican efforts, polling shows Earle-Sears trailing Spanberger by approximately 8.6 points. The race&#8217;s rating was recently changed to &#8220;likely Democratic&#8221; by the University of Virginia&#8217;s Sabato&#8217;s Crystal Ball.Spanberger has tied Earle-Sears to former President Donald Trump&#8217;s policies, which could negatively effect voters in virginia, where many depend on federal employment.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has endorsed Miyares but remains silent on endorsing Earle-Sears, who attended one of his recent events. The candidates are scheduled to debate, with the controversy around Jones expected to be a key topic. The RGA&#8217;s funding indicates the GOP&#8217;s attempt to overcome the setback caused by the Jones scandal and retain the governorship. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Republican Governors Association pours $1.5 million in Virginia&rsquo;s governor race after Jay Jones scandal<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2366628\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The Republican Governors Association waded into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Virginia<\/a> gubernatorial race this week with the announcement that the group is pouring $1.5 million into Lt. Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/winsome-earle-sears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Winsome Earle-Sears<\/a>&lsquo;s (R-VA) gubernatorial campaign against former Democratic Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In total, the RGA will have invested $5 million into the race, matching the $5 million the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-governors-association\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democratic Governors Association<\/a> has poured into flipping the Virginia governor&rsquo;s mansion blue. <\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3841889\/spanberger-deflects-questions-jones-texts-republicans-momentum\/\">Spanberger deflects questions of Jones&#8217;s texts as Republicans see momentum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3841763\/katie-porter-threatens-walk-out-interview-follow-up-questions-california-trump-voters\/\">Porter threatens to walk out of interview over follow-up questions on California Trump voters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3841834\/elise-stefanik-polls-closer-kathy-hochul-anticipated-gubernatorial-run\/\">Stefanik polls closer than expected to Hochul ahead of anticipated gubernatorial run<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The RGA investment comes as the GOP slams Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones over violent text messages he sent, suggesting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert&nbsp;should receive &ldquo;two bullets to the head,&rdquo; and wishing death on Gilbert&rsquo;s children.<\/p>\n<p>Spanberger denounced the text messages but has not pushed for Jones to resign from the race, as Republicans have pressured Democrats to abandon Jones. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3839121\/jay-jones-text-messages-virginia-national-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JAY JONES&rsquo;S VIOLENT TEXT MESSAGES IN VIRGINIA BLEED INTO THE NATIONAL DEBATE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s clearer now than ever that this race isn&rsquo;t about Republicans versus Democrats. It&rsquo;s common sense versus violence,&rdquo; said Peyton Vogel, a spokeswoman for the Earle-Sears campaign, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/10\/07\/republicans-virginia-governor-00596374\">told <em>Po<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/10\/07\/republicans-virginia-governor-00596374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>l<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/10\/07\/republicans-virginia-governor-00596374\"><em>itico<\/em>,<\/a> which first reported the news, in a statement. &ldquo;The RGA understands what&rsquo;s at stake here in Virginia, and their support will help us stand strong against Abigail Spanberger&rsquo;s ticket of rage.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking reelection, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3839056\/jason-miyares-million-dollar-ad-buy-jay-jones-violent-texts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also announced this week<\/a> that he is spending $1.5 million on an ad campaign highlighting Jones&rsquo;s texts. <\/p>\n<p>Jones <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/10\/07\/virginia-jay-jones-fundraiser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> canceled a Thursday night fundraiser as the controversy over his comments continues to grow. <\/p>\n<p>Earle-Sears has already begun to attack Spanberger in recent ads over the Jones scandal, and is blaming Democrats for encouraging political violence that helped lead to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680; NEW AD: Jay Jones dreamed of murdering two young kids and their dad over politics&mdash;and Abigail Spanberger wants him to be attorney general. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RoipSKn436\">pic.twitter.com\/RoipSKn436<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/winwithwinsome\/status\/1974832866388566097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Abigail Spanberger told her supporters to &ldquo;let your rage fuel you.&rdquo; Jay Jones took her literally.<\/p>\n<p>Reject rage, Virginia. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WCIbiCb8JO\">pic.twitter.com\/WCIbiCb8JO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/winwithwinsome\/status\/1975901355589210490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But the lieutenant governor still faces a tough path to succeeding Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA). She trails Spanberger by 8.6 points according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/orig.realclearpolitics.com\/epolls\/2025\/governor\/va\/2025_virginia_governor-8653.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>RealClearPolitics<\/em> poll composite<\/a>. Early voting had already begun in the commonwealth before the Jones text messages were revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Spanberger has spent months tying Earle-Sears to President Donald Trump&rsquo;s efforts to slash the federal workforce, which makes up a sizable portion of Virginia&rsquo;s population. The federal shutdown and the administration&rsquo;s threats to lay off thousands of workers or withhold backpay could help the Democratic candidate bolster her argument that the Old Dominion is in need of new leadership.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump is punishing Virginians for his own refusal to work in good faith to end this shutdown,&rdquo; Spanberger said in a statement on Tuesday. Withholding backpay would do nothing to strengthen our country &mdash; and would be a further attack on Virginians&rsquo; livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Sabato&rsquo;s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia changed the rating of the gubernatorial race from &ldquo;leans Democratic&rdquo; to &ldquo;likely Democratic.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Trump waded into the Virginia statewide races on Sunday when he endorsed Miyares for reelection. But he notably remained silent on endorsing Earle-Sears, even as she attended a speech he gave celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Navy in Norfolk, Virginia. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3841889\/spanberger-deflects-questions-jones-texts-republicans-momentum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SPANBERGER TRIES TO REDIRECT ATTENTION AS REPUBLICANS POUNCE ON MOMENTUM AFTER JONES&rsquo;S TEXTS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yet the infusion from the RGA into the race suggests the GOP sees an opening to retain control in Virginia over the Jones debacle. <\/p>\n<p>Spanberger and Earle-Sears are set to meet on the debate stage on Thursday at Norfolk State University, where questions about Jones will be a prominent part of the discussion. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RGA invests $1.5M in Virginia governor race after Jones scandal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2658,"featured_media":2496197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25107754220544-Sears.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33926,36618,33642,64832,45253],"class_list":["post-2496196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campaign-finance","tag-election-2023","tag-political-funding","tag-rga","tag-virginia-governor-race"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25107754220544-Sears.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2496196"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2496200,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496196\/revisions\/2496200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2496197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2496196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2496196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2496196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}