Two Republican state lawmakers have jumped into the race to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) as Virginia‘s next chief executive, threatening Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears‘s (R-VA) lock on the GOP nomination.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears began the week as the clear Republican gubernatorial frontrunner, but in just days, her once-uncontested path to the nomination has turned into a primary fight. With 10 months until Virginia’s gubernatorial election,

Dave LaRock and Amanda Chase, both former Virginia legislators, have announced they each are running for the Republican nomination for governor. If they garner the signatures to qualify, they will challenge current Lt.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) now has some competition to become the Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee, as former Del. Dave LaRock has also filed to run for governor this year. LaRock, who portrays himself as an ally to President Donald Trump on X,

LaRock, who served in the General Assembly for 10 years, has challenged whether presumptive GOP nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is conservative enough.

LaRock, who represented Loudoun in the House of Delegates from 2014 to 2024, says he wants to set up a Virginia version of DOGE, the Trump administration's effort to cut

Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase (R) announced late Wednesday that she is running for governor, becoming the latest Republican to launch a primary challenge against front-runner Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R).