Fear as 'all-but-hopeless' governor candidate threatens GOP wipeout in key state: report

The Republican Governor's Association has a tough choice to make in Virginia, where a strikingly weak gubernatorial candidate threatens the entire state's GOP ticket.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears is the GOP standard-bearer in Virginia, one of only two states holding a gubernatorial election this year, and Republicans feel like they have a better chance to win in New Jersey with Jack Ciattarelli, who lost a competitive race four years ago, reported Politico.

"When the Republican Governor’s Association convened this week for its annual summer fundraiser in Aspen, Colorado, there was an elephant in the room at the St. Regis: How little can it get away with contributing to its all-but-hopeless candidate for Virginia governor?" wrote Politico's Jonathan Martin.

RGA members aren't excited about pouring more money than the $500,000 they've already given to Sears, who's running far behind Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger in fundraising, with a $15.2 million to $4.5 million difference in cash on hand, and the lieutenant governor hasn't been an energetic candidate.

"Making the problem worse, Sears is reluctant to make fundraising or even glaringly obvious political phone calls, according to multiple Republicans familiar with her campaign," Martin wrote. "She’s not reached out to some of the most reliable donors in Virginia or to top GOP figures such as the Virginia-based Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign co-manager. And while Sears and Trump met privately earlier this year in the White House, the president has yet to embrace her candidacy, a non-endorsement that stems from her criticism of him between his two terms."

The race is another test of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's legacy, which already consists of losing control of the Virginia House of Delegates and a failure to flip a Senate seat during his single term as governor, but the multi-millionaire so far hasn't given his own money to Sears or directed contributions from his political action committee.

“He’s got to win something,” said the commonwealth's House GOP leader Terry Kilgore.

Youngkin has been unable to recruit a leading candidate to challenge Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and will almost certainly not challenge Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) himself, but instead seems to be positioning himself for a presidential run in the future by courting business moguls and attending GOP fundraisers in Iowa and South Carolina.

"But he could leave behind a political mess for his own party in Virginia," Martin wrote. "Youngkin all but assured Sears’ nomination for governor, even though it was widely known she was a weak fundraiser and mercurial figure, and then attempted to torpedo the candidacy of her successor as lieutenant governor, John Reid, after it was alleged earlier this year that he had posted sexually explicit images online."

"Now, Virginia Republicans — who were already swimming against the tide in a blue-tinted state Trump has never won that tends to punish the party in power in Washington — are alarmed their entire statewide ticket may lose and could deepen the party’s minority in the House of Delegates," the correspondent added.