Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announces she's running for governor of Virginia

hello Virginia [Applause] Beach I just can't even believe I'm here I really can't believe I'm here with all of you today I'm already ahead of my speech because this is such a great country I I mean that's where I have to start this is such a great country God Bless America God Bless [Applause] America so many of you have traveled from so very far Sheriff you have so many of you others Dey I mean from all across Virginia you've come so when I say Virginia Beach I mean Virginia you know this is where it started for me and Thelma Drake I remember I met Thelma oh dark you know long time ago so many years ago and I had seen her working and she was trying to ensure that the black population in Virginia understood that she wanted to do right by everyone and we just kept fighting these silly racial battles and I thought I'm going to go help her and then she asked me to run for delegate and she became my mentor and then here I am now and she is introducing me 20 some years later and Bishop Chase took a chance so many of you that's what you did and I want to acknowledge so many of you in the room today who are elected and you know what it feels like to get the slings and the arrows even though in your heart you're trying to do the right thing but you decided Well I'm going to jump into the arena anyway thank you thank you for being here if I acknowledged all of you would be here all day and well we've got to go to sleep at some point so it's great to be here with you the future a new chapter is about to begin together we have the power to ensure that our brother brightest days are ahead of us still but to make that future a reality we must come together it is really that simple we must stand strong we must support each other we must share each other's values and vision and folks first and foremost in 2024 that means standing with President Trump [Music] it means standing with hunga for our Senate and it means we must stand very steadfast with our incumbents so that they can continue Virginia's best interest in the Congress and I'm talking about Rob Witman we must send him back to serve the first district Virginia Beach's very own Jen kiggins right here in the second district Ben kleene my congressman back to the sixth district and Morgan Griffith someone I served with back folks to the Ninth District but we're not stopping there we can't stop there because this is our time to flip key House Seats and yes we're going to send a message about Virginia having bold conservative leadership and I'm talking about Navy Chief quartermaster Dr John Sitka in the [Music] third Bill Maher in the fourth Navy SEAL John Maguire in the Fifth Army Green Beret Dereck Anderson and the Seven Army Master Sergeant Jerry Torres in the eighth Mike Clancy in the 10th and navy helicopter pilot Mike vanit in the [Applause] 11th yes this 2024 election cycle is going to be tough no doubt about it but we've got to be ready to handle multiple challenges because yes we can walk you gum at the same time we can do that life doesn't always give us nice easy paths they give us challenges and we've got to meet them we've got to be able to prioritize them because that what leader leaders do we have to take bold and decisive action winning Virginia my friends is not just possible it is necessary necessary because the Democrats have had a head start and they're fighting tooth and nail to win in November and by the way they want to win in no in in November of 2025 as well but we're not going to let them are [Applause] we with your support we can secure the future of Virginia and make sure that the values that we cherish remain strong for generations to come so let's roll up our sleeves let's get to work let's get to work let's get to [Applause] [Music] [Applause] work I've already said that I stand before you in awe of this very great country more than 60 years ago a man left his home in Jamaica and embarked on a journey to America with a dollar 75 to seek his fortune to change his life he dreamed yes of a better life he wasn't certain what challenges faced him but he understood that if he could make it anywhere it was going to be in America he was a Stranger in a Strange Land yes he came from a British colony to a former British colony spoke the same language but with a different accent so much was special about this country and you see so many like him and before him believed deeply in the spirit of this country and the values that made it a Beacon of Hope and opportunity for generations and yes America is not perfect and if you find that perfect country don't go there because you will make it not perfect in fact when my father came in 1963 just 17 days later Dr King gave his I Have a Dream speech it was the height of the the Civil Rights Movement but folks it is no longer 1963 this is 2024 we are not living in 1963 things have changed have they not of course they have because how else could I be second in command in the former capital of the Confederate states the Clan is turning over in their grave in fact when I was a delegate so many years ago I was the one who carried the bill to protect us against the clan when right here in Virginia Beach a black man and his wife who was white were terrorized by the clan and my bill survived and we live under that bill today and so those of us us who would like to divide us we must not let them we must not let them we must be able to live in peace our children must live the dream they must create the dream Dr King said I may not get there with you but he said there would come a day when things would change when are we going to acknowledge that we are living in those times that we do have a hope and a future when when I am reminded of Jeremiah 29 And1 which says for I know the plans I have for you I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to give you hope and a future and that's how we started in America and yes he said I may not get there with you but the doors will open they're opening how else could I be standing [Music] here listen to me no matter who you are or where you are from no matter if you're a man or a woman no matter your race or religion in America if you work hard and you never back down from a challenge you can make it this we know is true you can make it if you can't make it in America you can't make it anywhere you don't have to be a victim you can my friends be an overcomer that's what we are you throw things at us we will overcome them the enslaved did not die in the fields so that in 2024 we could still say that we are victims not at all in fact we have a saying in church and it is this I may not be up be what I'm supposed to be but I ain't what I used to be and that is America she's getting there she may not be what she's supposed to be but she ain't what she used to be I know this because the man that I originally mentioned the man from Jamaica he was my father yeah he was my father and he came back for me put me on that Pan-American Jet and I arrived in the cold in New York different sounds different foods and here I am today because you see his dream was that he would have a place in this world a place with opportunity and as we talk about opportunity I want to tell you that I've not lived an easy life I did not start college until I had three children one of whom sits here today and the other hi Janelle is in Florida I started college three children under five we only had one car my Marine Core [Applause] husband and with that one car he went to work and he had a bike bicycle really from college bought a car seat little seat put it on the bicycle and we took the young baby who is now in Florida dropped her off at school and I went to class so I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I'm telling you if you put your mind to it it doesn't matter how old you are you can make it this is America it is never too late [Applause] I've had great pain and great sorrow yes but a story like mine a Jamaican immigrant a United States Marine a business owner a homeless shelter director the leader of a Men's prison ministry a former delegate and now your Lieutenant Governor that story is only possible in [Music] America I love this great country false in all yes and I love our great Commonwealth I remember when we were still living in California I'd gotten out of the Marines and my husband was still in and he was deciding where we should live and you know I was raised in New York partly and he was raised in South Dakota and he saidwell you know I've got family back in Virginia and you know and I said well I don't know about that but I said let's try and so here we are in the Great old Virginia Virginia where everything started Virginia where the wars finished where Cornwall is surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown yes where Lee surrendered to Grant at aomax where Christopher Newport planted the cross right here in Virginia Beach everything started right here in Virginia it is up to us ladies and gentlemen to carry the dream forward for our children we must make the darkness tremble we must preserve Virginia for the next generation and yes the truth can be offensive because policy matters I want to tell you I think we are living in interesting times indeed extreme leftist policies have led some states down a path of decline taxes Reckless spending leave Working Families unable to afford the things that they need let alone the things that they want the nice to have folks are living in fear lethal drugs are ravaging our generation in fact drugs drugs are the number one cause of unnatural deaths in Virginia not guns remember that so how did we do it in Virginia what did we do differently well I'm glad you asked Common Sense conservative leadership was the way we refueled our rebirth and restored hope to many thanks to the leadership of our great Governor Glenn yunan we did what we said we would do we have brought Safety and Security to our families and to our businesses we treat criminals like criminals we make sure that the victims see that their perpetrators are brought to Justice we restored pride in law enforcement and our department of corrections personnel they should know we have their backs thank you for protecting us because we know that every day you put that uniform on could be your last watch and I was just at the funeral of a deputy killed in Cold Blood in the bright daylight a young man cut down three children 28 years old Virginia cannot survive in lawlessness we have also opened Virginia's economy to New Opportunities we're attracting corporate headquarters even from overseas we have grown 10,000 businesses right here in Virginia yes and we have also supported our businesses that are already here we have cut taxes for working families and put more of their hard-earned money back in their pocket because I want to know how much of my own money that I work hard for do I get to keep it's the right thing to do to give you back your own money when we were elected folks We inherited an inadequate behavioral system those Among Us who are mentally challenged and their families went from crisis to crisis we heard that in 2021 and we decided we're going to do something about it enough was enough Virginians should not suffer and especially not in silence and so we rolled up our sleeves and we created a comprehensive approach which set clear goals achievable goals and put into action what we call right help right now because it was time we're going to have mobile units and so many other things so many other things to help those of us who need the help and thank you to our doctors our nurses Our Midwives our EMTs everyone in the medical profession who work tirelessly to bring us back to good health and especially during Co because my friends it wasn't Co that closed our schools it wasn't Co that closed our businesses it wasn't Co that closed our houses of worship it was government's policies in response to covid that closed our H our churches our temples our houses of worship our businesses our way of life because Florida did not close down in the way that we did because leaders know you must assess the threat and once you understand it you open back up folks we have empowered parents to make education options for their children education lifted my father out of poverty with $1.75 in his pocket Lifted Me Out of poverty will lift all of us out of poverty and this is the new Brown versus Board of Education fight it was never about a brick building it was about what was in the brick building the opportunities the good school books the lab equipment we don't worship the building no we care about the child so we thank our teachers they simply want to help us to shape the lives of our children to shape the future we have and will always as we turn to our veterans support them I just listed for you the various people who are running for office to continue to serve those who put their lives on the line in combat areas and they want to serve again but we're not done you know that we all know that I wouldn't be here today if the American dream weren't still waiting for us others to grab hold of her I'm living proof that it's still alive as I traveled through Virginia just two weeks ago I met a man from Egypt he came with $1,000 in 2011 not knowing the language and now he is a business owner of a thriving business the dream is still alive I know though for some it does seem Out Of Reach the promise of a better life still beckons yes but it is not impossible and that's why we're here today I learned in the Marine Corps you have two options two you adjust adapt overcome or you go backwards there is no going back forward is the only way I know forward is is the only way I know there's nothing back there there's nothing back there you've got to keep getting up you've got to keep moving forward you must overcome because this is the only life we have it's the one life we must make something of it why because little boys and little girls are watching us from Fairfax to fin Castle from hay to Henry from Feebas to Port Republic from watcha PRI to wise all over Virginia they are counting on us to keep going to win to succeed for them for them because we are the adults in the room we can do this we must do [Applause] this this is not about me I don't make excuses I never will stop working to get things done for you for you I am not the one who is saying give me an opportunity and I'll show you that I will serve you I have done so you've heard as a marine I've done so leading a Men's prison ministry I've done so leading a women's homeless shelter driving them to their various appointments I've done it I don't have to say I'm going to do it I've done it I will not be overworked I will not stop fighting I will never let the little girls and little boys down and that is why I announce today that I am running for governor of our great Commonwealth of Virginia