Virginia Republicans pick radio host to run alongside Winsome Sears in race to replace Youngkin

Virginia Republicans rally behind John Reid for lieutenant governor as the party aims to flip the narrowly Democrat-controlled House of Delegates in November elections

Virginia LG candidate John Reid, left, and gubernatorial candidate Winsome Sears, right (John Reid for Lieutenant Governor)

Reid has centered his campaign on a unity message to "grow" the GOP in a state where the political divide is numerically narrow, but marked in that Democrats are often the favored line in statewide elections.

The first point of his campaign message on his website centered around education versus "indoctrination."

"His focus is on ensuring that our educational system imparts knowledge and critical thinking skills, not political bias, preparing students for success in a diverse world instead of creating radical activists," read a line on his website.

On the hot topic of immigration, Reid’s campaign said the candidate is "dedicated to enforcing immigration laws, not allowing localities to ignore them."

His campaign also objected to "obliterating" U.S. heritage by conserving landmarks.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS ANNOUNCES VA GOV BID TO BUILD ON YOUNGKIN RECORD: IT'S ‘ALL ABOUT BUSINESS'

Reid’s campaign did run into a short-lived controversy when the former pundit – the first openly gay man to run statewide in Virginia – was subjected to lewd photos of himself being posted online. Reid denied any connection with the Tumblr account in question, but the controversy led some Republicans to briefly call for him to drop out.

Reid, Earle-Sears and several top Virginia Republicans converged on Richmond Tuesday night to celebrate the primary winners across the board, including in the General Assembly’s lower chamber.

Democrats currently hold a two-seat majority in the 51-49 Virginia House of Delegates, where Republicans hope to make the narrow gains necessary to take control in November.

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Republicans face a tough road in that respect, and are defending several seats, particularly along the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike corridor that were won by former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris – or both.

One such member is Del. Kim Taylor, R-Petersburg, who flipped a "Biden+12" district in 2023 in what is the commonwealth’s most-Democratic municipality per-capita.

Dels. David Owen, R-Goochland, Carrie Coyner, R-Hopewell, and Amanda Batten, R-Williamsburg, all hold seats in Democrat-friendly territory.

Miyares is running unopposed in Tuesday’s attorney general primary, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin is term-limited.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-republicans-pick-radio-host-run-alongside-winsome-sears-race-replace-youngkin