Virginia’s GOP lt. governor won’t back Trump in 2024: ‘I just couldn’t’

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears (R) said on Thursday that she would not support former President Trump running again for the White House if he declares his candidacy, as he is expected to do next week. 

Sears told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto that Trump had numerous accomplishments with the economy and with public safety, but she said voters showed in the midterm elections that they want the Republican Party to have a different leader. 

“I could not support him. I just couldn’t,” she said. 

Republicans were hoping for a red wave to lead the party to significant gains in the House and Senate in the midterms, but Democrats outperformed the polls in many races. 

The GOP appears likely to win control of the House, but the margin will be much narrower than expected. Which party will control the Senate is uncertain. 

Many Trump-backed candidates in key House, Senate and gubernatorial races have either lost or are in significant jeopardy of losing, and several Republican strategists and aides blamed Trump for the losses in what looked like winnable races. 

“A true leader understands when they have become a liability,” Sears said. “A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message.” 

She said voters are saying “enough is enough” and that America is “the prize.” 

Trump is expected to announce his third run for the presidency on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, but some Republicans are reportedly urging him to delay the announcement until after Georgia’s runoff election next month, which could determine which party controls the Senate. 

Sears has been a strong supporter of Trump and served as chairwoman of a group called “Black Americans to Re-elect the President” during the 2020 presidential election. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who did not campaign with Trump during his race for governor last year, has been rumored as a possible 2024 presidential candidate and declined to say if he is considering a run in a CNN interview last month.