Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to face Spanberger in Virginia’s governor race

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The race for Virginia’s next governor took a major step forward Tuesday, with current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears officially securing the Republican nomination.

Earle-Sears ran unopposed in the GOP primary. She celebrated the moment her nomination became official with a campaign rally in Richmond on Tuesday, June 17.

“We haven’t come this far to only go this far,” Earle-Sears told the crowd. “Forward is the only way I know. That’s why we have to defeat Abigail Spanberger.”

Her nomination was expected, but the night was not without a bit of conflict. Outside the rally, a group of protestors gathered to voice opposition to her stance, or lack thereof, on key issues.

“We want politicians to stand up for us, to represent us, and to say, ‘Absolutely not, you deserve your right to Medicaid -- you deserve your right to healthcare,’” said Rae Pickett, communications director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “And [Earle-Sears] has said absolutely nothing about these attacks.”

Though Earle-Sears did not comment on Medicaid or healthcare during her speech, she did offer vocal support for law enforcement and spoke out against what she called “criminal immigrants” and transgender women participating in women’s sports.

“And that’s why we’re going to win in November,” she declared.

Looking ahead to November, when she’ll face off against Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger, Earle-Sears outlined her top priorities.

MORE: One-on-One with Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor

If elected, she said she would sign an executive order to open Virginia State Police action centers in what she referred to as "crime-ridden communities," establish a governor’s office in the state’s southwest region and more.

“We’re going to end indoctrination in schools,” she told supporters. “We’re gonna deport our criminal illegal immigrants. We will not offer sanctuary to any of these people.”