GOP hopeful falling behind Dem alleges 'desperate' plot hatched to 'drag' her off campaign

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is down 9 points in the Virginia gubernatorial race, but in a new statement, she says Democrats are "desperate" to stop her.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Democrat, and Speaker Don Scott, also a Democrat, asked that lawmakers return to Richmond to navigate redistricting matters.

Virginia previously passed a constitutional amendment creating a redistricting commission made up of residents, lawmakers and citizens. However, there hasn't been a consensus on maps. The Virginia Supreme Court drew the current district maps, according to Virginia Public Media. Now that President Donald Trump has ordered Texas and other GOP states to redraw district lines to ensure he keeps congressional power, Virginia Democrats are stepping in to see if they can draw lines to cut out Republicans.

But Earle-Sears thinks this is all part of an election conspiracy.

"In a desperate political stunt, Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly are calling for a special session to drag Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears off the campaign trail. The same politicians who marched in 'No Kings' protests are now trying to crown themselves as the rulers of Virginia politics, abusing their offices to rig the calendar because they can't win on ideas," the campaign said in a press release.

The same politicians calling the special session are also running for reelection, just like Earle-Sears. So, they're also taking themselves off their campaigns to deal with the redistricting crisis.

"This is what panic looks like," said Earle-Sears.

"In a Suffolk University poll of likely voters released Oct. 23, Spanberger garnered 52% of the vote among survey respondents, followed by Earl-Sears' 43%. Another 3% said they were undecided," USA Today reported Thursday.