Earle-Sears takes $40K from DeVos family

Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, has accepted $40,000 in donations from former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her family.

DeVos, who served in the first Trump administration, has dedicated her career to defunding and dismantling public schools. She is the wife of former Amway CEO Dick DeVos and the daughter of deceased billionaire Edgar Prince, both of whom have pushed for far-right causes, including union busting and abortion bans.

“[DeVos] has worked against the best interests of public schools,” the National Education Association said in 2020. “From proposing funding cuts to promoting privatization to rolling back protections for vulnerable children, she has ignored the voices of educators across the country about what students need.”

According to a campaign finance report filed last month, DeVos personally contributed $5,000 to Earle-Sears’ campaign. The campaign also received $5,000 from DeVos’ husband in May.

Dick DeVos’ siblings have given a combined $30,000 to the campaign.

Earle-Sears is also backed by the American Federation for Children, a private school advocacy group funded by DeVos. The group argues that public money should be allowed to fund private and religious school tuitions, typically through tax credits or vouchers.

The group gave $1,500 to Earle-Sears’ campaign in March and previously donated $15,000 to Earle-Sears’ super PAC in 2023.

Earle-Sears is a proponent of pro-private school policies and penned an op-ed for the Roanoke Star in January 2024 endorsing bills in the Virginia legislature that would’ve brought such policies to the state.

“I am sponsoring legislation to create new opportunities for financially disadvantaged students,” Earle-Sears wrote. “SB533/HB1164, Education Excellence for All, which will allow parents of low-income, at-risk children to use the state, not federal or local, portion of education funding for qualified educational expenses, like tuition, textbooks, additional tutoring, achievement tests, etc.”

Despite Earle-Sears’s claims, experts say that school choice diverts funds from public schools without expanding educational access. If vouchers cover only a portion of tuition, the system may still keep private schools out of reach for many low-income families.

Both bills endorsed by Earle-Sears failed to pass.

Earle-Sears has served as Lieutenant Governor since 2022. She secured the Republican nomination for governor on June 17. Her Democratic opponent is former Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Spanberger, who has three children enrolled in Virginia public schools, has made strengthening public education a centerpiece of her campaign.

“As Virginia’s next Governor, Abigail will work aggressively to get schools the funding they need, address Virginia’s teacher shortage, and provide teachers with training and support,” Spanberger’s website says. “She will oppose efforts that seek to erode faith in our public schools or take public dollars out of public schools.”

A Harris poll from May showed Spanberger leading Earle-Sears by four percentage points.