The two nominees for the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election are now set. Current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was confirmed as the Republican nominee on Saturday, the Virginia GOP X account confirmed.

Virginia's lieutenant governor is used to facing formidable obstacles in her political campaigns. And Winsome Earle-Sears' bid to be Virginia’s next governor is no exception. The Jamaican immigrant and Marine veteran will need to win the Republican primary in June at a time when her party has been taken over by the “Make America Great Again” movement. Then she'll have to woo moderate and independent voters in the November general election as Democrats look to tie her to President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the federal government. Two conservatives are trying to challenge her in the primary. Virginia has never elected a woman as governor.

The Virginia legislature has ended its 45-day session by addressing a slew of budget amendments ranging from tax cuts to child care. But some lawmakers say they will likely need to return to the Capitol later this year to address a mounting threat: massive federal government layoffs planned by the Trump administration. Virginia in December was home to nearly 315,000 federal workers and many more government contractors, behind only Washington, D.C., and California. So far fewer than 300 Lawmakers said such sweeping changes to the state’s workforce by the White House would deeply impact the state’s economy.