Ex-State Sen. Amanda Chase says she’s eligible to challenge Earle-Sears in a primary

Regardless of whether Chase makes the primary ballot, it appears Virginia is on track to elect a woman governor for the first time.

Former state senator Amanda Chase said Thursday she filed the necessary paperwork just before the 5 p.m. deadline to challenge Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears for the Republican nomination for governor. 

The Republican Party of Virginia has yet to confirm that Chase, who is no stranger to political stunts, actually received enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot in the June 17 primary, after confirming in March that Earle-Sears had done so. 

Another Republican challenger, former state delegate Dave LaRock, said Thursday he failed to collect enough signatures to make the primary ballot. 

LaRock and Chase jumped into the race for governor late in response to simmering dissatisfaction with Earle-Sears’ candidacy among Virginia Republicans. 

Earle-Sears joined other Republicans in breaking with Trump in 2022 before returning to the fold. But supporting Trump, the increasingly unpopular Elon Musk, and their efforts to wreak havoc on federal spending and federal workers is likely to hurt any Republican candidate with Virginia’s moderate voters, as well as the thousands of federal workers who live here. 

Regardless of whether Chase makes the primary ballot, it appears Virginia is on track to elect a female governor for the first time. Former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger was the only Democrat to file for the race, making her the party’s official nominee for governor.

Further down the ballot, the Democrats have a crowded field competing to be the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor. The candidates that will appear on the primary ballot are: Alex Bastani, a former union leader and lawyer; state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi; Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef; state Sen. Aaron Rouse; Victor Salgado, a former federal prosecutor; and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. 

Two Democrats are also competing to be the nominee for attorney general: former state delegate Jay Jones and Commonwealth’s Attorney of Henrico County Shannon Taylor.

The Republican Party of Virginia said that current Attorney General Jason Miyares, facing no challenger, will again be the party’s nominee this November. The state Republican party had yet to confirm who had made the ballot to compete for its nomination for lieutenant governor.