Pollster Matt Towery Shares What Virginia GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Needs To Win Race

Pollster Matt Towery said Friday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that Republican Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears needs the support of conservative media to bring “energy” to her race for governor.

A recent poll conducted by Roanoke College shows Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee for governor, trailing former Democratic Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger by seven points. While discussing the race and Earle-Sears’ potential outcome, Fox’s Laura Ingraham asked Towery if the GOP nominee could defeat Spanberger as Democrats have fallen in favorability nationwide. (RELATED: ‘Don’t Rest On Your Laurels’: Vance Lists Reasons Why Republicans Must ‘Take Nothing For Granted’ In 2026)

“No, I think this race could be winnable. I think you made a good point, though, and that is the conservative media, other media,” Towery said. “There’s just not been that energy there like there was four years ago. That has to happen.”

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“If that happens, and if the Republicans really decide and understand this is a bellwether and this is going to lead us into the midterms, I think you could see this become a very close race, and Sears could have a great chance of winning,” Towery added. “She is a fantastic candidate, in my judgment.”

Despite Democrats’ confidence in flipping seats ahead of the 2026 midterms, a slew of recent polls show the party’s approval ratings plunging to near-historic lows. According to a CNN poll conducted in March, Democrats’ favorability hit just 29% and  dropped a staggering 20 points since January 2021.

In addition, a report released by the New York Times found that between the 2020 and 2024 elections, Democrats lost an estimated 2.1 million voters across 30 states and Washington, D.C., while Republicans added 2.4 million registered voters and gained more new voters than Democrats between 2024 and 2025.

Earle-Sears’ race has also come under media spotlight after a racially charged sign aimed at her was held by a left-wing supporter of transgender ideology at an Arlington County Public School Board meeting. The sign read, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.”

Earle-Sears slammed the supporter in a response on X.

“I’m disgusted, but not surprised. This is the ‘tolerant’ left Abigail Spanberger defends,” Earle-Sears wrote on X. “There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our Commonwealth. Anyone who doesn’t condemn this sign is complicit in approving it.”

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