Political Analyst: ‘It’s about time’ that Earle-Sears and Reid spoke

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Could there be peace in the valley for the GOP ticket in Virginia? 

“It’s about time. I think you could argue that it’s a little late, but it has at least happened,” said Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

On Thursday, June 19, 8News learned that the Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, called John Reid, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, on Wednesday.

The conversation brings an end to a nearly eight-week radio silence between the two that started after Governor Glenn Youngkin asked Reid to step aside after he was made aware of a Tumblr account potentially tied to Reid that previously shared sexually explicit images. 

“We don’t know what they said, we don’t know whether they really made peace,” Sabato told 8News. 

Sabato said that although we don’t know what exactly the two discussed, the fact that they are talking is a positive first step in unifying the GOP ticket. 

“They don’t have to become best friends, but they do have to paper this over and at least be cordial to one another in the same room. That’s kind of the minimum you expect from a ticket,” Sabato said.

Sabato added that the reason Earle-Sears likely picked up the phone when she did was because she saw how unified the Democratic ticket of Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones was already, just hours after Tuesday’s primary elections.