As the kids say: “The girls are fighting!”

Reductive a sentiment though it may be, considering the office and responsibilities that both women are pursuing, tonight’s debate was less of a reconciliation of ideas and more of a bloodsport. With just 26 days until the votes for this year’s Virginia elections begin to tally, Virginians have finally witnessed the leaders of the Republican and Democratic ticket in this year’s election go toe-to-toe; or, rather, blow-for-blow.

Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D) and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears (R) had their first and only debate for the upcoming election for Governor of Virginia. Among the issues discussed were the car tax, energy futures, the federal government shutdown, data centers, the rights of transgender students in schools, economic concerns among young voters, and, of course, the Jay Jones scandal. 

The questions were informed by legacy issues like development and energy infrastructure, but also reflected last week’s breaking news. The attitude and tenor of the debate from both candidates was shadowed by many recent developments in the races for the Virginia elections this November. At the beginning of the month, these breaks included:

• The federal government shut down on October 1st. The Trump administration has floated the idea of mass federal employee firings and withholding backpay for furloughed employees. Thus far, it has not followed through with implementing these ideas.
• Also on October 1st, opposition research from Democrats revealed the Nazi affinities of John Reid’s alleged Tumblr account.
• For a hat trick, on October 1st, the Richmond Times-Dispatch revealed that in January 2022, Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, was arrested for speeding at 116mph on I-64, 46 miles over the speed limit. He avoided jail and spent half of his community service time with his PAC.
• On October 3rd, texts between Jay Jones and Delegate Carrie Coyner (R-Chester) displaying his desire for former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) to have his children die and joking about shooting Gilbert in the head, twice. It is the only debate that will occur for this year’s gubernatorial election in Virginia. In separate (accidental) text messages, Jones also disparaged a recently deceased Democratic Delegate from Southwest Virginia.
• On October 6th, Carrie Coyner disclosed to the Virginia Scope that in 2020, Jones said that the death of some police officers would help stop police brutality. Jones denied saying this in a statement to the Virginia Scope.
• On October 8th, the Virginia Mercury reported that Winsome Sears omitted high-value gifts and donor-funded travel from ethics filings.
• On October 8th, MeidasTouch, a Democratic PAC, revealed audio from a 2022 interview where Sears said, referring to abortion and pro-choice activists: “Murder is murder, and one day, it’s gonna be your turn.”

At the beginning of the debate, the text exchange between Coyner (who is described as a “colleague”) and Jones was displayed on the screen, and the moderators pressed Spanberger to ask if she still endorsed Jones, to which she replied that each candidate is “running their own race,” a reference to Sears’ comments over her ticketmate John Reid several months ago. Sears didn’t let up, pressing Spanberger on her ticketmate’s texts.

On the issue of data centers and rising energy costs, Spanberger noted that data centers “need to pay their fair share;” Lieutenant Governor Sears did not address data centers and instead bashed Spanberger’s support for the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

When transgender policies in public schools came up, Spanberger dodged the question on whether biological males who identify as women should be allowed in boys’ restrooms and instead said it should be left up to parents and school administrators, not politicians.

Perhaps the highlight of the night that erupted debate watch parties all over the Commonwealth, though, was surprisingly on the topic of… gay marriage. Verbatim, the exchange:

Spanberger: “My opponent has previously said that gay couples should not be allowed to marry” 

Sears, interjecting during Spanberger’s answer, said “That’s not discrimination!“

Sears then doubled down, with Spanberger quoting Sears as being, “‘Morally opposed to same sex marriage’,” and that Sears “thinks that it’s okay for someone to be fired from their job for being gay.” Sears vocally disagreed and cut her off by saying that such an instance “isn’t discrimination, no!”

During the debate, Sears was reprimanded repeatedly by moderators for interrupting Spanberger, reminding her that the audience was unable to hear the answers from Spanberger when Sears spoke over her. Most of Sears’ interruptions were to make reference to the perceived inconsistencies between Spanberger’s words and actions; Sears repeatedly mentioned a website called “SpanbergerLies.com” and encouraged the audience to visit the site to fact check Spanberger’s debate responses. 

Notably, Sears lobbed more questions towards Spanberger than Sears herself answered during the debate; questions about Spanberger’s voting record in Congress, her public comments while in office, and, yes, why she refuses to condemn Jay Jones and drop him from the ticket. Sears’ frequent and varied interjections irritated the airwaves for the hour-long slot, and the moderators audibly struggled to keep the conversation on an even keel. 

In typical fashion, Spanberger refused to take the bait. She did not take it when John Reid crashed her early voting day event in an effort to activate her, and she wasn’t about to take it from Sears. The former Congresswoman visibly steeled her nerves, gaze fixed on the audience and moderators as Sears relentlessly egged her on, question after question, beat after beat. 

In 2021, McAuliffe’s misstep on parental rights in schools turned into the most effective ad for the remainder of the campaign: we’ll wait and see what ads will be cut from each party using the moments from tonight’s debate, but our money is on Sears’ unpopular answer on gay marriage, and even less popular definition of discrimination.

In the current State Navigate forecast, Abigail Spanberger is virtually certain to become the next Governor of Virginia, with a 98% chance of winning. Election day is Tuesday, November 4th.

**This article was updated with further comments from Winsome Earle-Sears regarding her position on discrimination in the workplace.