Earle-Sears backed offshore drilling plan that risked 46,000 Virginia jobs

Winsome Earle-Sears once partnered with the American Petroleum Institute to bring offshore drilling to Virginia, pushing a Trump administration plan that experts warned would jeopardize the state’s fishing and tourism industries and lead to thousands of job losses.

Environmental groups and local activists successfully blocked the plan from moving forward, but now, with President Donald Trump back in office and Earle-Sears running for governor, it could be back on the table.

Earle-Sears joined the American Petroleum Institute’s Explore Offshore Coalition in June 2018. The group’s goal was to convince Black and Hispanic communities to support Trump’s push for new offshore drilling between Cape May, NJ and Cape Canaveral, FL. That same month, she wrote an op-ed for the Daily Press claiming the proposal would bring jobs to Virginia and reduce energy costs.

 “With the exploration and potential for development of offshore energy resources, Virginia could gain 25,000 jobs, many with an average salary of $116,000 — more than double the commonwealth’s average,” Earle-Sears wrote.

The op-ed did not disclose Earle-Sears’ ties to the American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, nor did it provide sources for her claims. Identical job growth and economic figures, however, showed up in multiple American Petroleum Institute materials, including other op-eds from Explore Offshore Coalition members.

Environmental groups disputed Earle-Sears’ and the American Petroleum Institute’s analyses. A report from the nonprofit group Oceana found that while expanding offshore drilling could create thousands of jobs, it would put millions more at risk. An accident, similar to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill—which sent oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for five months—would likely decimate the coastal fishing and tourism industries for years to come.

In Virginia specifically, a spill would threaten 46,000 jobs. There were also concerns that such a spill could damage military installations, including the naval base in Norfolk.

Furthermore, offshore drilling would only meet oil demand for two years, likely making any benefits temporary.

Oceana and other environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in 2018, arguing that seismic testing permits for offshore oil and gas exploration violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While the lawsuit was never resolved in court, it contributed to delays and mounting opposition to offshore drilling. That same year, 20 localities in Virginia passed formal resolutions opposing the plan. These actions, combined with Democrats’ victories in the 2018 midterms, helped stall the Trump administration’s offshore drilling push indefinitely.

In April, Trump directed the Interior Department to begin taking public input on a new five-year offshore drilling plan. This followed his rescission of an executive order from former President Joe Biden that had banned offshore drilling in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Earle-Sears has not publicly addressed the issue of new offshore drilling in Virginia. In contrast, her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, states on her campaign website that she opposes it.

“In Congress, Abigail built a record of working with both parties to lower greenhouse gas emissions in a responsible way,” the website says. “She focused on increasing energy efficiency, protecting Virginia’s coastline from offshore drilling, and safeguarding Virginia’s natural resources for future generations.”

A 2024 Ipsos poll commissioned by Oceana found that 64% of registered voters favor protecting coastlines from offshore drilling and 63% support transitioning away from offshore drilling toward renewable energy.

An Earle-Sears spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions for this story.