GOVERNOR DEBATE: Spanberger dodges on Jay Jones; Earle-Sears says no same-sex marriage isn’t discrimination

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Assistant News Editor

Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears gave their pitches to Virginians on Thursday during the first, and likely only, gubernatorial debate ahead of the November election.

The candidates answered questions on abortion, marijuana, federal workforce cuts, Trump and which bathrooms transgender children should use.

Spanberger condemned Jones, but refused to call for his removal

The debate hosts WAVY-TV gave the candidates set times for rebuttals. Both candidates regularly spoke beyond their time limits. 

Earle-Sears, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, complicated the debate by repeatedly interrupting Spanberger during her speaking time — making jabs at the former congresswoman for refusing to call on her running mate Jay Jones to drop out of his race following recent scandals. 

Jones, a former delegate and the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has been hit with multiple scandals since the beginning of October, most recently the uncovering of his texts from 2022 in which he mused hypothetically killing the then-House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert.

Spanberger condemned Jones’ comments and violent political rhetoric in general, but did not answer on whether she still “endorsed” his candidacy. 

“Voters have this information in their hands now, it is up to them to make an individual choice,” Spanberger said.

Earle-Sears drilled Spanberger repeatedly on the question of Jones. Spanberger went on to charge her with only condemning political violence when it targets “her side.”

Neither candidate staunchly supported queer rights

Another contentious issue was the question of transgender children’s access to bathrooms in schools. Spanberger was asked the question of whether “biological boys” should be allowed in girls’ locker rooms or bathrooms in K-12 — which she did not answer directly. 

“It’s important we have parents and teachers and administrators [deal with] their individual schools, not politicians,” Spanberger said. 

Spanberger turned attention to her opponent’s record on LGBTQ+ rights. Earle-Sears once included a handwritten note of personal objection to an amendment prohibiting officials from denying marriage licenses based on sex, gender or race, writing that she was “morally opposed” to the bill’s content.

Earle-Sears responded by saying “that’s not discrimination,” and repeated the statement when further pressed by Spanberger. 

Spanberger supported abortion access, Earle-Sears did not

When asked about her stance on reproductive rights, Spanberger said she believed in the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, and indicated support for a constitutional amendment to codify legal access to abortion. 

Spanberger also said she supports current Virginia laws that set limits on abortions after the second trimester and access for minors.

Earle-Sears claimed Spanberger wants access to abortion “up to the hour, the moment the baby can be born.”

Earle-Sears wrote a similar note expressing her moral opposition to abortion on an amendment to codify reproductive rights, writing “I am morally opposed to this bill; no protection for the child. She insisted that she would leave the final decision on reproductive rights to voters.”

Earle-Sears argued against a full marijuana market

The candidates opposed each other on the legalization of a full marijuana retail market. Spanberger endorsed an open and transparent market, but her justification for how it would aid law enforcement was interrupted by Earle-Sears’ interjections, and by the clock. 

Earle-Sears said marijuana has a mere “medicinal value” and made various arguments against its proliferation.

 “We can’t afford to have people who are working and they don’t know what they’re doing, they’ll blow everything up,” Earle-Sears said.

Spanberger opposed sanctuary zones for immigrants

Spanberger was clear on her position on local police cooperation with the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement — notably her support for raids when there is a warrant. Spanberger and Earle-Sears agreed on opposing “sanctuary” policies that provide safety for undocumented immigrants. 

“Local law enforcement, local resources should and must be employed,” Spanberger said. “That is why, as my opponent has somewhat erroneously said, I would never, ever support making Virginia … providing any sort of sanctuary policies here. Because local and state law enforcement has always worked with federal agencies when there is a warrant. Any time there is someone with any kind of criminality, absolutely that cooperation shouldn’t just occur, but it must.”

Virginians can participate in early voting until Nov. 1. Election day is on Nov. 4. Voting information, locations and hours are available at elections.virginia.gov.