Politics, Parties, Candidates
Here's a look at documents from politicians, candidates and interested parties
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Not a "Huge, Huge Thing": Winsome Earle-Sears "Doesn't Understand Why" Virginians are Concerned About Losing Their Jobs
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic Governors Association posted the following news:
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Not a "Huge, Huge Thing": Winsome Earle-Sears "Doesn't Understand Why" Virginians are Concerned About Losing Their Jobs
Sears: "It happens to everybody all the time", "it's not unusual"
New audio of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears reveals that she "doesn't understand why" Virginians who have lost their jobs because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk is a "huge, huge thing."
This newly unearthed audio comes right after Sears once again downplayed Virginians losing their jobs, telling them "do not fret."
At
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic Governors Association posted the following news:
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Not a "Huge, Huge Thing": Winsome Earle-Sears "Doesn't Understand Why" Virginians are Concerned About Losing Their Jobs
Sears: "It happens to everybody all the time", "it's not unusual"
New audio of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears reveals that she "doesn't understand why" Virginians who have lost their jobs because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk is a "huge, huge thing."
This newly unearthed audio comes right after Sears once again downplayed Virginians losing their jobs, telling them "do not fret."
Atanother event in February, Sears enthusiastically supported Trump and Musk's agenda of killing Virginia jobs, saying she was "glad that President Trump is getting to the bottom of all of this," despite Virginia being home to over 300,000 federal workers who could be affected by Trump and Musk's cuts.
"Instead of standing up for Virginians, Winsome Earle-Sears is now mocking workers who have lost their jobs and are worried about paying bills and supporting their families," said DGA National Press Secretary Devon Cruz. "Sears will say or do anything to defend Donald Trump and Elon Musk - even when Virginians are hurting."
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Original text here: https://democraticgovernors.org/updates/not-a-huge-huge-thing-winsome-earle-sears-doesnt-understand-why-virginians-are-concerned-about-losing-their-jobs/
New Jersey's GOP Primary Week in Review: Trump, Trump, and More Trump
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic Governors Association posted the following news:
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New Jersey's GOP Primary Week in Review: Trump, Trump, and More Trump
As New Jersey's Republican primary between two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli and former talk radio host Bill Spadea gets nastier by the day, both are making their case to be the Garden State's next governor not to New Jersey families, but to Donald Trump.
As NorthJersey.com reports, "President Donald Trump looms large" in this race, especially after both Ciattarelli and Spadea met with Trump at his Bedminster
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic Governors Association posted the following news:
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New Jersey's GOP Primary Week in Review: Trump, Trump, and More Trump
As New Jersey's Republican primary between two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli and former talk radio host Bill Spadea gets nastier by the day, both are making their case to be the Garden State's next governor not to New Jersey families, but to Donald Trump.
As NorthJersey.com reports, "President Donald Trump looms large" in this race, especially after both Ciattarelli and Spadea met with Trump at his Bedminstergolf course last weekend, and have spent every day since attacking each other in the press and on the airwaves to prove their MAGA bona fides.
Trump's growing influence in New Jersey's Republican primary hasn't gone unnoticed. Read more below from outlets across the Garden State on New Jersey's increasingly hostile MAGA GOP primary:
* NewJersey.com: What's the top issue in the NJ gubernatorial primary? Donald Trump's agenda
* President Donald Trump looms large in both primary battles, though definitely more so for the Republicans.
* Two Republican candidates, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and Bill Spadea, spent time with the president at his club in Bedminster last week and are vying for an endorsement that many feel is pivotal to securing the nomination.
* New Jersey Globe: Ciattarelli campaign launches negative ad on Spadea
* Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli's gubernatorial campaign is pushing ads with a 2021 clip featuring radio host Bill Spadea saying Donald Trump should not run for president again, the first negative ad from the Ciattarelli campaign.
* Philadelphia Inquirer: The battle for President Trump's endorsement has reached new heights in the New Jersey GOP primary for governor
* Jack Ciattarelli and Bill Spadea are top competitors for the New Jersey gubernatorial Republican primary, but their campaigns at times could be mistaken for a competition over who is more loyal to President Donald Trump.
* Spadea and Ciattarelli's rivalry over who is more aligned with Trump is the very reason so many Republicans decline to take a side when asked about the primary in fear of dipping their toes into the inner-party turmoil.
* The two men were more focused on criticizing each other's records on Trump than answering moderators' questions at the first debate of the race in early February, which also featured former State Sen. Ed Durr, who dropped out of the race Monday, and State Sen. Jon Bramnick, who has been openly critical of Trump.
* Spadea, a former conservative radio host, has presented himself as an antiestablishment politician who isn't beholden to the machine while trying to frame Ciattarelli, a former Assembly member who has already run for governor twice, as too much of a politician. Ciattarelli, on the other hand, has tried to frame Spadea as a liar.
* The New Jersey Monitor: In GOP primary for governor, fight escalates over winning support of Trump voters
* Spadea and Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman, are sparring this year for the allegiance of Trump supporters and racing to prove their MAGA bona fides in a state where the GOP hopes it can bounce back after losing two gubernatorial races in a row.
* Ashley Koning, director of Rutgers University's Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, said it's obvious both men would love to win the votes of Trump supporters -- but there's a "big question mark" about whether their pitch to appeal to them could hurt in November's general election, when one of them could be facing one of six Democrats hoping to succeed a term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.
* ...But Ciattarelli's late-game shift shows he's an "opportunist," Spadea said. "It's going to hurt him because it just shows he's a typical politician who will just say anything for a vote," Spadea said. "And I think he's exposed himself because people aren't buying it."
* When asked about Spadea's jabs at Ciattarelli's slow support for Trump, Ciattarelli replied, "Bill's initials are B.S. for a reason."
* NJ.com: The fight for Trump's endorsement in GOP gov primary
* The bitter -- no, make that nasty -- Republican primary for New Jersey governor is much more than a battle over which candidate is most aligned with President Donald Trump.
* The only public comments Trump has made about the contest came last May during his appearance on Spadea's show. He told Spadea "you've had my back from the beginning" and chided Ciattarelli, though not by name.
* "The guy never came to ask for my support," Trump said. "When MAGA sees that, they don't like it and they didn't vote for him. He would have won easily if he did."
Trump didn't endorse in the last two Jersey governor's races. Ciattarelli, walking a tight rope when Trump was more toxic in the state, didn't ask for his endorsement in 2021.
* Ciattarelli and Spadea continue to shine light on comments the other made about Trump. Ciattarelli called Trump a "charlatan" in 2015 and said he was "unfit to be president" -- as highlighted in a Spadea ad calling Ciattarelli "fake."
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Original text here: https://democraticgovernors.org/updates/new-jerseys-gop-primary-week-in-review-trump-trump-and-more-trump/
ICYMI: "Trump's Tariffs On Cars Hit Baltimore's Top Import" [Baltimore Banner]
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, March 29 -- The Maryland Democratic Party issued the following news:
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ICYMI: "Trump's Tariffs on Cars Hit Baltimore's Top Import" [Baltimore Banner]
"The Port of Baltimore is typically the nation's biggest importer of foreign vehicles"
Donald Trump's disastrous trade war with our allies will cost Marylanders, especially those interested in buying or insuring a car. The Baltimore Banner reports that the Port of Baltimore, "a top importer of cars for more than a decade," will be hit particularly hard by Trump's 25% tariffs on car imports that was announced this week.
IN
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ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, March 29 -- The Maryland Democratic Party issued the following news:
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ICYMI: "Trump's Tariffs on Cars Hit Baltimore's Top Import" [Baltimore Banner]
"The Port of Baltimore is typically the nation's biggest importer of foreign vehicles"
Donald Trump's disastrous trade war with our allies will cost Marylanders, especially those interested in buying or insuring a car. The Baltimore Banner reports that the Port of Baltimore, "a top importer of cars for more than a decade," will be hit particularly hard by Trump's 25% tariffs on car imports that was announced this week.
INCASE YOU MISSED IT.
Baltimore Banner: Trump's Tariffs on Cars Hit Baltimore's Top Import
By Julie Bykowicz and Hayes Gardner
March 27, 2025
* President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. is enacting 25% tariffs next week on all foreign-made passenger vehicles could hit Baltimore especially hard: The Port of Baltimore has been a top importer of cars for more than a decade.
* The new tariffs also will apply to key automobile parts (engines, transmissions, power train parts, and electrical components), according to a White House fact sheet.
* The president said the auto tariffs would go into effect next Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and that the U.S. would begin collecting them the following day.
* The additional levies mean automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, with price increases being passed along to new car buyers.
* Thousands of dollars more on a car purchase will "price a lot of people" out of the market, Kitzmiller said.
* Free trade agreements prompted the creation of supply chains where parts and vehicles travel back and forth between the U.S., Mexico and Canada multiple times before final assembly... Tariffs could "destroy" those supply chains, Dai said. That would affect cars thought of as domestic and foreign alike.
* The New York Times has an analysis pointing out the difficulty of determining which cars are really imports.
* The tariffs also will make insurance rates rise. A recent report from Insurify, an online aggregator that helps people shop for policies, estimates an 8% rise in rates by the end of the year -- a steeper increase than what it predicted before the proposed tariffs.
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Original text here: https://mddems.org/news/icymi-trumps-tariffs-on-cars-hit-baltimores-top-import-baltimore-banner/
Democratic National Committee: After Trump Moves to Shutter CFPB, Senate Republicans Want to Rip Away Protections Against Big Banks'' Overdraft Fees
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement on March 27, 2025:
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After Trump Moves to Shutter CFPB, Senate Republicans Want to Rip Away Protections Against Big Banks'' Overdraft Fees
In response to Senate Republicans voting to repeal the CFPB's overdraft fee cap rule, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
"The CFPB has put nearly $20 billion back in Americans' pockets, and now Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies want to harm consumers to boost Wall Street's bottom line. After Trump and his billionaire Cabinet
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement on March 27, 2025:
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After Trump Moves to Shutter CFPB, Senate Republicans Want to Rip Away Protections Against Big Banks'' Overdraft Fees
In response to Senate Republicans voting to repeal the CFPB's overdraft fee cap rule, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
"The CFPB has put nearly $20 billion back in Americans' pockets, and now Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies want to harm consumers to boost Wall Street's bottom line. After Trump and his billionaire Cabinetmoved to shutter the CFPB, Senate Republicans are trying to let big banks go back to ripping off millions of Americans and burying them in fees. Working families are already suffering under Trump's failing economy, and this latest vote is just another attack on their pocketbooks."
NEW: Senate Republicans voted to rip away a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that caps bank overdraft fees at $5, stripping Americans of "billions of dollars per year."
New York Times: "The Senate voted Thursday to strike down a rule capping most bank overdraft fees at $5, a measure adopted late last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that had been expected to save Americans billions of dollars per year. ...
"The rule would have limited the fees banks and credit unions could charge when customers spend more than they have in their accounts, typically $35 per overdraft. The bureau estimated it would save American households $5 billion a year. ...
"'Repealing the C.F.P.B.'s overdraft fee limits will hurt working families who are already struggling with high prices and inflation,' said Chuck Bell, the advocacy program director at Consumer Reports."
Donald Trump and his corrupt billionaire Cabinet have already moved to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an extremely popular agency that has successfully returned $19.7 billion to working families.
CNN: "Consumer watchdog ordered to stop fighting financial abuse and to work from home as HQ temporarily shuts down"
"Vought had sent an email Saturday night ordering all employees at the consumer watchdog to stop virtually all work -- including fighting financial abuse.
"'Effective immediately, unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law, all employees, contractors and other personnel of the bureau shall...cease all supervision and examination activity,' Vought wrote in the email, a copy of which was viewed by CNN."
Lake Research Partners: "[N]early 4 in 5 say they favor the agency (79%).
"Voters are overwhelmingly supportive across party lines. Two-thirds of independents (64%), three quarters of Republicans (75%), and over eight in ten Democrats (86%) support the CFPB. Intensity among Democrats is particularly high - a majority strongly favor the agency (51%)."
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: "As of January 30, 2025, CFPB enforcement actions have resulted in:
"$19.7 billion in consumer relief ... 195 million people eligible for relief ... [and] $5 billion in civil money penalties"
USA Today: "Thousands of complaints submitted by Americans to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleging fraud or scams from private companies are going unanswered following President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the agency, Senate Democrats argue in a new report. ...
"The daily average of complaints submitted to companies has dropped to 2,067 since Feb. 13, a decline of 80% from the pre-Trump rate."
The CFPB has a long, successful track record of holding banks and corporations accountable for fraud, scams, and discrimination while putting money back in the pockets of working families, veterans, and students.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: "[T]he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) [ordered] Regions Bank to pay $50 million into the CFPB's victims relief fund and to refund at least $141 million to customers harmed by its illegal surprise overdraft fees."
Politico: "Wells Fargo Slammed With $3.7B Penalty, In Record CFPB Settlement"
Washington Post: "Bank of America agreed Wednesday to pay nearly $800 million in penalties for deceiving millions of customers into buying costly and unneeded services when they signed up for credit cards."
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: "CFPB Announces Return of $1.8 Billion in Illegal Junk Fees to 4.3 Million Americans Harmed in Massive Credit Repair Scheme"
Military Times: "Troops will get part of a $5M settlement in alleged title loan scam"
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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/after-trump-moves-to-shutter-cfpb-senate-republicans-want-to-rip-away-protections-against-big-banks-overdraft-fees/
Ahead of April 1 Elections, DNC Blankets Wisconsin Newspapers to Call Out Elon Musk's Scheme to Buy Wisconsin Election for Brad Schimel
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release:
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NEW: Ahead of April 1 Elections, DNC Blankets Wisconsin Newspapers to Call Out Elon Musk's Scheme to Buy Wisconsin Election for Brad Schimel
As Elon Musk pours millions of dollars into an upcoming Wisconsin election to support a politician willing to do his bidding, the DNC will remind Wisconsin voters that "Wisconsin is not for sale" ahead of Election Day
On Tuesday, April 1, Wisconsinites will get the chance to elect candidates up and down the ballot, including a new justice to determine the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release:
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NEW: Ahead of April 1 Elections, DNC Blankets Wisconsin Newspapers to Call Out Elon Musk's Scheme to Buy Wisconsin Election for Brad Schimel
As Elon Musk pours millions of dollars into an upcoming Wisconsin election to support a politician willing to do his bidding, the DNC will remind Wisconsin voters that "Wisconsin is not for sale" ahead of Election Day
On Tuesday, April 1, Wisconsinites will get the chance to elect candidates up and down the ballot, including a new justice to determine thebalance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The high-stakes state Supreme Court race has caught the attention of Elon Musk, who has given more than $19 million supporting far-right candidate Brad Schimel, as his company Tesla anticipates pushing a lawsuit through the court. Case in point: in yet another attempt to influence the election, this week, Musk gave a Wisconsin voter who signed a petition targeting Crawford $1 million.
Today, in its first paid media explicitly calling out Musk, the DNC announced it is blanketing local Wisconsin newspapers with ads exposing Musk's meddling in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. This follows an announcement earlier this month to reach 2 million Wisconsin voters ahead of the April 1 election.
Musk knows the right-wing extremist candidate will do billionaires' bidding no matter the costs to Wisconsin families. The DNC has one message for Musk: Wisconsin is not for sale.
"Elon Musk has threatened Medicare, gutted Social Security services, and now he thinks he can buy himself a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That's why, today, the DNC is out with our first paid media explicitly calling out Musk for his attempts to meddle in Wisconsin's elections. On April 1, Wisconsinites get the chance to say what Americans across this country are thinking: 'Go to hell, Elon,'" said DNC Chair Ken Martin. "Wisconsinites deserve a Supreme Court justice who looks out for them, not the ultra-wealthy. Now and forever, Wisconsin is not for sale."
The ads will appear in the following newspapers across Wisconsin:
* Chippewa Herald
* Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
* Beloit Daily News
* Daily Jefferson County Union
* Janesville Gazette
* Watertown Daily Times
* Oshkosh Northwestern
Americans don't want Elon Musk in the White House and they don't want him buying our elections.
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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/new-ahead-of-april-1-elections-dnc-blankets-wisconsin-newspapers-to-call-out-elon-musks-scheme-to-buy-wisconsin-election-for-brad-schimel/
A Message From the Chair: Republicans Keep Voting Against Our Kids. Let's Vote Them Out.
BOISE, Idaho, March 29 -- The Idaho Democratic Party issued the following statement by on March 28, 2025, by Chair Lauren Necochea:
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A Message from the Chair: Republicans Keep Voting Against Our Kids. Let's Vote Them Out.
When we prepare our kids to succeed, we invest in the future of Idaho. But Republicans in the Statehouse are bringing new attacks on education every week that take opportunities away from students. We can't let this disregard for our children continue.
Republicans on Idaho's budget committee slashed $4 million from Boise State and the University of Idaho. These cuts came
... Show Full Article
BOISE, Idaho, March 29 -- The Idaho Democratic Party issued the following statement by on March 28, 2025, by Chair Lauren Necochea:
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A Message from the Chair: Republicans Keep Voting Against Our Kids. Let's Vote Them Out.
When we prepare our kids to succeed, we invest in the future of Idaho. But Republicans in the Statehouse are bringing new attacks on education every week that take opportunities away from students. We can't let this disregard for our children continue.
Republicans on Idaho's budget committee slashed $4 million from Boise State and the University of Idaho. These cuts cameeven after both universities had eliminated initiatives that offended conservative legislators. The University of Idaho shuttered its 50-year-old Women's Center and Black and African American Cultural Center. Boise State gutted similar programs.
Shutting down programs supporting students from all walks of life wasn't enough for extremists because this was simply misdirection. The GOP seeks to discredit universities to advance its larger goal of defunding our public colleges and universities, a plank of the Idaho Republican Party platform.
In other disappointing news, Idaho faces an $82 million shortfall in special education funding. A modest $3 million appropriation would have helped schools provide critical services like an interpreter for a student who relies on American Sign Language to communicate. The bill passed the House only because every Democrat voted for it, while most Republicans voted against it. Republican senators succeeded in killing it by a single vote.
Meanwhile, administrative costs for Idaho's school voucher scheme ballooned to more than twice what sponsors claimed just a month ago. That money isn't going to learning. It's going to bureaucracy and overhead. Republicans are pushing a bill to repeal the popular Empowering Parents program that helps families pay for tutoring, school supplies, and online classes. They're defunding programs that work to prop up a scheme that doesn't.
Even workforce training that has strong business support isn't safe. Launch gives high school graduates up to $8,000 to train for in-demand careers like nursing and welding to build a future here at home. Yet the program barely survived last year with every Democrat supporting it and most Republicans voting it down. This year, Republicans tried to undermine it by politicizing how career pathways are selected. When a proposal to expand workforce training through public-private partnerships came up, House Republicans killed it outright.
It's just as sad to see Republican leaders celebrate the illegal dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. If you're a public school student, a family attending rural schools, a parent whose child has a disability, or a young person seeking career training, Republican lawmakers don't care about your future.
Dan Foreman, Codi Galloway, Dori Healey, Brandon Mitchell, Tanya Burgoyne, and other vulnerable Republicans voted against our kids with special needs. And every seat is up for grabs when Republicans choose tax giveaways for the wealthy over our children. Let's vote them out.
Onward,
Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair
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Original text here: https://idahodems.org/a-message-from-the-chair-republicans-keep-voting-against-our-kids-lets-vote-them-out/
58 DAYS LATER: Sears Still Owes Virginians Answers on Her Vote Against the Right to Contraception Act
RICHMOND, Virginia, March 29 -- The Virginia Democratic Party issued the following news release:
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58 DAYS LATER: Sears Still Owes Virginians Answers on Her Vote Against the Right to Contraception Act
It's been 58 days since Winsome Earle-Sears "couldn't resist" voting against a bill that would guarantee Virginia women access to birth control and contraception. Sears has not answered why she wants to leave the door open to extreme restrictions on access to birth control and emergency contraception.
"Winsome Earle-Sears' record including her vote against the Right to Contraception Act
... Show Full Article
RICHMOND, Virginia, March 29 -- The Virginia Democratic Party issued the following news release:
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58 DAYS LATER: Sears Still Owes Virginians Answers on Her Vote Against the Right to Contraception Act
It's been 58 days since Winsome Earle-Sears "couldn't resist" voting against a bill that would guarantee Virginia women access to birth control and contraception. Sears has not answered why she wants to leave the door open to extreme restrictions on access to birth control and emergency contraception.
"Winsome Earle-Sears' record including her vote against the Right to Contraception Actsignals her extreme plans to roll back rights and attack women's health care in Virginia. Virginians deserve answers on why Sears wants to leave the door open to extreme restrictions on access to birth control and emergency contraception," said DPVA Spokesperson Maggie Amjad.
Read more on Sears' dangerous record:
* Sears "couldn't resist" voting against this legislation to guarantee Virginia women's access to contraception.
* Sears supports an extreme six week abortion ban similar to the law that took effect in Texas that bans abortion before most women know they are pregnant.
* Sears has said that she would support an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
* January 2021: The Winchester Star reported that Sears said she wanted to make abortion illegal in all cases, unless the life of the mother was at risk.
* Sears vowed to "do everything in [her] power" to end abortion in Virginia.
* Sears' 2021 lieutenant governor campaign website: "I will do everything in my power to stop this act from taking place in Virginia."
* Sears attempted to scrub this abortion section from her website around September 2021.
* Sears has declared she is "standing shoulder to shoulder" with the far-right fight against IVF.
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Original text here: https://vademocrats.org/news/58-days-later-sears-still-owes-virginians-answers-on-her-vote-against-the-right-to-contraception-act/
