History-making Republican Winsome Earle-Sears began her tenure presiding over the Virginia Senate on Monday as the state's first woman to serve as lieutenant governor and the first Black woman to hold statewide office.
Earle-Sears will cast tie-breaking votes as she oversees the procedural flow of the chamber. The lieutenant governor is also second in line to the governorship, and the part-time position is often a steppingstone to higher office.
A Marine veteran who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica as a child, Earle-Sears defeated Democrat Hala Ayala last year to become only the second woman in Virginia’s long history to serve in a statewide office. Attorney Gen. Mary Sue Terry, who was elected in 1985, was the first. She served just one term before deciding not to seek reelection. After moving, she unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott in a race The Associated Press described at the time as “a campaign of raw invective.”
Earle-Sears used the last name Sears during her campaign. Chris Saxman, her transition director, said Earle-Sears is her preference moving forward.
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