Conservatives across the commonwealth of Virginia are waking up Wednesday with heavy hearts in the wake of the political shellacking inflicted upon Republicans. As RedState reported, the Democrat ticket of Abigail Spanberger (governor), Ghazala Hashmi (lieutenant governor), and Jay Jones (attorney general) won in a landslide, blowing out the Republican slate of Winsome Earle-Sears (governor), John Reid (lieutenant governor), and Jason Miyares (attorney general).
It wasn't even close – Spanberger beat Earle-Sears by a full 15 points and made significant gains over Kamala Harris's 2024 performance. The strength of Spanberger's campaign propelled Hashmi and Jones across the finish line. And, yes, it's alarming for many of us Virginians to realize that our neighbors have no problem electing a guy with homicidal fantasies about a political opponent to be the commonwealth's top law enforcement official. If they're okay with that, is there any depraved act they won't condone?
READ MORE: Morning Minute: Dear Republicans...
Just In: Winner Declared in Virginia Governor's Race
My initial thought is that this was always headed our way, but Glenn Youngkin captured lightning in bottle four years ago and kept the lefty loons at bay for a little while. To be honest, it's really challenging to harness my thoughts on what just happened here, but I thought I'd take a shot a making some random and (hopefully) salient points.
Winsome's Weaknesses
I've been saying this the entire year: Winsome Earle-Sears is a fine woman, but a weak candidate. Yes, on paper she has great credentials: immigrant, U.S. Marine, businesswoman, public servant, and dedicated grandmother. And, yes, she likely would have been a capable governor, but she just didn't have the zing needed to be a standout candidate.
Anecdotally, Earle-Sears spoke at my daughter's high school graduation back in May. What I saw alarmed me; she couldn't hold an audience of friendlies (this was a Christian school), her speech was disjointed and uninspiring, and we the audience were left confused as to what she was trying to say. Voters clearly felt the same way.
This tweet from back in January goes a long way to at least partially explain what happened. Earle-Sears didn't face any primary challengers, and, thus, was untested on her political strengths and weaknesses.
The parallels between the Democrats clearing the field for Kamala’s nomination for President and Virginia Republicans clearing the field for Winsome Sear’s nomination for Governor are striking.
— Dr. Ben Braddock (@GraduatedBen) January 24, 2025
It’s all to avoid a competitive nomination process, but competitive nomination…
The parallels between the Democrats clearing the field for Kamala’s nomination for President and Virginia Republicans clearing the field for Winsome Sear’s nomination for Governor are striking.
It’s all to avoid a competitive nomination process, but competitive nomination processes are good!
Competitive primaries are where you build and test your campaign machine and strategy. It’s a useful exercise in mass voter mobilization that allows you to identify deficiencies and correct them in time for the general election. It’s a test of the candidates themselves. Many candidates who look great on paper turn out to be bad at campaigning when they actually do it. And most importantly, it brings the party selection process to the people the party is supposed to serve.
Yes, it was always going to be hard for a Republican to win in Virginia, with DOGE, tariffs, and reductions in the federal workforce, but, to put it simply, candidates matter.
There's also a lot of talk this morning about Republicans needing to stay away from identity politics. I need to chew on that a bit longer to see how that may have been at play in Virginia with Earle-Sears, but there could be something there.
Early Voting
It bears repeating that early in-person voting began on September 19 and the Jay Jones text scandal didn't emerge until early October. By that time, tens or hundreds of thousands of votes had already been cast, much to Jones' luck. The Democrat ticket may have still won handily, but early voting bit the GOP in the butt this year. Which leads us to ...
Ground Game
The Republican ground game is nearly non-existent in Virginia. I live in Loudoun County and didn't get one door knocker or lit drop at my house. The state Republican party is on life-support; the consultants who made bank off of this dismal campaign cycle should be named and shamed.
RELATED: Republicans Must Learn to Walk and Chew Gum When Trump Is Not on the Ballot
Tuesday Was a Bloodbath for Republicans, So What Now?
(To his credit, President Trump did use his political operation to target Republicans who tend not to turn out in off-year elections, but it wasn't enough.)
One Bright Spot
If, like me, you live in Loudoun County, you're always looking for something good on which to cling. That came last night in the form of a conservative, Amy Riccardi, winning a seat on the uber-lefty Loudoun County school board. It's nice to know there's still a shred of sanity left in LoCo.
Thank you to all of our Sterling District voters for entrusting me with your children’s education. I am truly honored to join the LCPS School Board in January representing the Sterling District!
— Amy Riccardi (@Amy4Sterling) November 5, 2025
Thank you to all of our volunteers, donors, supporters, and cheerleaders! This was… pic.twitter.com/hKBhw7MGoa
What Happens Next
It's not good. Every leftist fantasy is about to become reality in Virginia, including gun control, the elimination of right to work, increased taxes, and a radical congressional redistricting plan that will eliminate Republican representation on Capitol Hill for generations to come. Here's a full list of what could be heading our way:
We Lost More Than an Election — Here’s What Comes Next
— Tim Anderson (@AssocAnderson) November 5, 2025
We lost all three statewide races. We lost 13 House seats. No Republican won outside deep-red districts.
This election wasn’t about who the better candidate was — it was about national trends that local campaigns couldn’t…
What Really Matters
It wasn't the result we wanted, but hope remains and the fight is far from over.
"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." — Psalm 62:5-6
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