Historic wins by Sears, Miyares

Virginia is growing more diverse, and its new statewide officials reflect that

Glenn Youngkin made a little history Tuesday when he broke eight years of Democratic rule in the governor’s mansion. But his accomplishment pales in comparison to that of his fellow statewide Republican Party candidates.

Former Del. Winsome Sears defeated her Democratic challenger Del. Hala Ayala and will be the first woman of color to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor. And Del. Jason Miyares, the son of a Cuban immigrant, defeated two-term incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring and will be the first Latino to serve in statewide office.

While Democrats boast that they are the more diverse national political party, Virginia Republicans can trumpet that it was their candidates who this year broke a couple of glass ceilings. It’s something in which the whole commonwealth should take some measure of pride.

Sears winning the lieutenant governor’s job was an impressive and surprising journey that saw her emerge from a five-person Republican field that featured two more established and known candidates: Tim Hugo, who represented Fairfax and Prince William counties for 16 years, and Virginia Beach Del. Glenn Davis.

Sears is also a former delegate — she served one term after defeating Norfolk

Del. Billy Robinson Jr. in 2001 — as well as a former Marine and the former vice president of the Virginia Board of Education. She is an immigrant from Jamaica and a graduate of Old Dominion University.

Sears was the first Black Republican woman to win election to the House of Delegates, as well as the first foreign-born woman and first female military veteran. Her election Tuesday will add to that list of firsts.

Miyares also broke barriers when he won his race this week and completed a Republican sweep of statewide elected offices. In 2015, he became the first Cuban American elected to the House and, when he takes office, will be the first Latino to hold statewide office in Virginia history.

Miyares represented Virginia Beach in Richmond, meaning all three of the commonwealth’s top offices will be held by people with ties to Hampton Roads. Gov.elect Youngkin was raised in Virginia Beach and attended secondary school in Norfolk.

As was repeated for weeks leading up to Election Day, these are important offices.

The lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and breaks ties, which is an influential responsibility in a chamber split 21-19 in favor of the Democrats. And the state attorney general wields substantial power, as Herring has shown during his time in office — not only for matters of criminal justice or consumer protection but in which lawsuits Virginia pursues in concert with other states.

So while becoming the first Black female lieutenant governor or Latino attorney general makes a powerful statement about a diverse and modern commonwealth, how each uses their office is what matters.

During her campaign, Sears mirrored much of Youngkin’s messaging about the need for greater parental involvement in schools, expanding the number of charter schools in the commonwealth and allowing for school choice.

She is a hardliner against abortion and advanced questionable claims about the 2020 election.

Miyares was relentlessly critical of the Virginia Parole Board’s conduct and decisions in the last two years — again echoed by Youngkin on the stump — and said he would oppose measures that might hamstring law enforcement in the execution of its duties.

He appealed to voters concerned about public safety and about the consequences of police reform. Miyares is a former prosecutor and leaned on that experience during his campaign.

Virginia’s general election was historic in many ways, but perhaps no more so than in the diversity of those who won and who will represent the commonwealth in its highest offices.

While they will be judged on their service and the execution of their duties, it is right to take note of these achievements, to celebrate these “firsts” and to know that, especially for children of color, the victories by Sears and Miyares show that anything is possible in the Old Dominion.