Republican chefs serve politics over easy as Virginia race nears finish

By Walker Whalen, Ben Ackman, George Smith, Emma Taylor and Jonathan Casaverde Maimon

RICHMOND, Va. — Winsome Earle-Sears flipped pancakes and served coffee to patrons of Shorty’s Diner in the final hours of her campaign for governor of Virginia on Monday. 

Earle-Sears was joined by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the rest of the Republican ticket at the a traditional Republican campaign stop. 

“Folks, we’re looking good because we have all the right ideas,” Earle-Sears said. “Our governor has begun it, and we’re gonna finish it.”

The diner’s owner, Tony Short, said that his diner has been a regular venue for Republican campaigns since 2021, when then-Fox & Friends anchor Pete Hegseth talked to patrons at his Williamsburg location.

“Our place is full of the kind of customer you want to interview,” Short said. “Retired military, steel workers, people who were affected by COVID, and they were just loving it.”

Short is a lifelong Republican and voted for all the Republican candidates on the ballot this campaign cycle. In recent years, Short said he has become more involved in politics as a business owner and hopes to see the interests of small businesses addressed by whichever candidate wins the governorship.

‘I’m an egg guy.’

“I’m an egg guy. No one could talk better about it,” he said. “We sell 6,000 eggs a week, and the eggs went from $2 a dozen to $7 a dozen. There needs to be some government support for that.”

Jason Miyares, the incumbent attorney general seeking reelection, and John Reid, who is running for lieutenant governor, were among the other candidates who showed up to talk to diners.

Despite the most recent polling from Roanoke College showing a lead for Democrat and State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi in the lieutenant governor race, Reid said he was optimistic going into election day.

“I think Independents are breaking for me,” Reid said. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be the ambassador for entrepreneurship in Virginia.”

Deborah and Kerry Koslovic were unaware candidates were visiting that morning. They come to Shorty’s for breakfast whenever Deborah, a special-education teacher in Richmond Public Schools, is off work. 

Earle-Sears stopped at their table and chatted with them about Kerry’s service in the Navy.

“We were just so happy to meet her and wish her well, and she’s the one that asked us questions,” Deborah said. 

The Koslovics are fans of Reid, too. Deborah said she admired him when he was a radio host at WRVA and knew early on about his candidacy for lieutenant governor. News breaking of sexually explicit posts on an account linked to Reid did not bother her, she said. 

“I didn’t even pay any attention,” Deborah said.

Kennedy Jackson, a volunteer for the Earle-Sears campaign and lifelong resident of the Commonwealth, said he enjoyed meeting all the candidates and was looking forward to seeing the results of their campaign efforts on election day.

Now retired as a judge’s assistant for Richmond’s Circuit Court, Jackson started a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “economic and social transformation” for Black families in Virginia. He said he believes Earle-Sears will make the change he wants to see.

“Her tenacity, her knowledge, her determination to make Virginia a great state is one of most important things too,” Jackson said.

‘She stands for Trump’

On Sunday night, Earle-Sears rallied her base outside the Hanover County Government Office, just north of Richmond, sticking to sharp attacks on Spanberger over transgender issues she’s employed throughout the race. 

Roger Martin, a retired first-time rally attendee from Hanover, said he has “voted in every election for both Republicans and Democrats” before but feels more strongly about this race. 

“Spam is bad for your computer. ‘Spamberger’ is bad for Virginia,” he said.

Martin said he wants to “back Trump because of what he’s doing in Washington, D.C.,” and called the border his top issue. He added that he was “surprised Trump has not said more” about Earle-Sears, whom he has not offered his endorsement.

Charlie Waddell, 68, a substitute teacher from Hanover and a former elected official in Herndon, said he came out to support Earle-Sears because she was the “fittest candidate for the job.” 

As a teacher, Waddell said he was “concerned” about Spanberger’s position on transgender children in school bathrooms. He called it “crazy” and said “we need to protect our schoolchildren.”

On the lack of a formal Trump endorsement in the race, Waddell said he “likes endorsements but locally people make up their own minds.” 

He added that he believed Trump had implied his support for Earle-Sears, saying “she stands for Trump, has the apprenticeship, and conservatives see that.”

At the rally,  Kathy and Fred Whitten sat in the back of their pickup truck with Terry Tuckerman and Tom Phillips, chatting about life and politics as if they’d been friends for years. In reality, they had met moments before. 

Fred Whitten emphasized the strength of the community in Virginia, which extended from fellow rally attendees to police officers protecting the county. 

“Republicans are kind people,” he said. “That’s just community.” 

The four said they showed up to the rally to support the candidates and preserve the quality of life in the state. 

“We enjoy the Commonwealth of Virginia as a place to raise children, do business and thrive as a family,” said Fred Whitten, who has lived in Virginia nearly his entire life and worked in the pharmacy industry for 33 years. 

All four agreed they wanted to continue Youngkin’s work in the state and said they supported the candidates with strong Christian values. 

“We want to avoid insanity,” added Tuckerman, who was born and raised in Virginia. “A lot of the views the other party has are insanity. I don’t understand it.” 

Meet-and-Greet in Prince George

Earlier on Sunday, Earle-Sears held a meet-and-greet in Prince George, Virginia, a community southeast of Richmond. 

In the loft of a rustic barn, 150 of her supporters traded campaign signs, proudly displayed their shirts and crowded together for selfies against the backdrop. Many of them had been to this loft before, and some were newcomers. 

The crowd got a surprise appearance from Youngkin. Miyares spoke with the voters beforehand and introduced Youngkin. 

“Virginia is making a choice,” Youngkin said. “A choice for prosperity, a choice for economic growth, a choice for public safety…a choice between light and dark.”  

Youngkin then asked the crowd, “who has already voted?!” A majority of the room threw their hands up in the air and cheered, the governor shared a call to action with them. 

“For those of you that have already voted,” Youngkin said, “you are now in charge of finding 10 friends to go vote, and if you’re married, that’s 20 friends!”

Earle-Sears joined Youngkin as he highlighted his administration’s successes, mentioning job creation numbers. She took over the mic to continue touting Youngkin’s victories, and reminded the audience that her administration would continue that work for them. 

Earle-Sears discussed the economic challenges facing Virginians, promising the crowd to get rid of the gas and car tax, and using the Youngkin administration’s job numbers to push that only she would be able to continue growing Virginia’s prosperity. 

Turning to the topic of taxes, Earle-Sears took aim at Spanberger, accusing her of supporting economic policies that would raise taxes on Virginians. 

“They are trying to be good with our money,” Earle-Sears said. “No! Let me be good with my money.”