Virginia's Winsome Sears says voters are 'tired of the Black against White'

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Power Player of the Week: Virginia Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears

Virginia Lieutenant Governor-elect Winsome Sears on her tenacity and talking tough issues.

Virginia Lieutenant Governor-elect Winsome Sears, the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia's history, attributed her victory to voters being sick of seeing Black and White people pitted against each other. 

"They’re tired of the Black against White and the Asian against Latino," Winsome said of those who voted for her during a "Fox News Sunday" interview. "They’re tired of it, and they’re tired of politicians who won’t let the wounds of the past heal." 

"I’ve just always assumed whatever room I’m in, I belong. Whatever I want to pursue, it’s mine for the taking," Winsome told host Chris Wallace. "Nobody is denying that we don’t want to hear all the history, least of all me. I certainly don’t want the sins of the past to be repeated. We don’t have to tear one person down in order to build another up. That’s no way to be. That’s not America." 

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Winsome, who emigrated from Jamaica and formerly served as a U.S. Marine, first gained notoriety through her campaign photo in which the 57-year-old posed with a rifle. That eventually led to her earning the GOP’s nomination for lieutenant governor, and she fired up crowds for fellow Republican Glenn Youngkin, now the governor-elect. She reacted to criticism from the left following her win, specifically to a joke made by Michael Che during a Nov. 6 episode of NBC’s "Saturday Night Live." 

Showing the campaign photo during the "Weekend Update" satirical news segment, Che had said, "Republican Winsome Sears, seen here attempting suicide-by-cop, was elected as Virginia’s first Black female lieutenant governor." He further joked, "This is actually a win for Democrats because nothing will get Republicans to support gun control faster than this picture."

When asked if she found the joke funny, Winsome said yes, "because I don’t think he knows what he’s saying." 

"The fact that his audience thought it was quite hilarious was also very telling about their character," she continued. "You know, it’s a bunch of hypocrisy but it’s alright. I can handle it. I’m a big girl."

"Everything I’ve had, I’ve had to work for. No one gave me anything," Winsome said. "Sometimes, what happens to you isn’t because you’re Black or because you’re a woman. It’s simply life. I mean, some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue. It’s just life." 

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Winsome said she views her position as an opportunity to be a role model for younger people.

"I really want others to see me, especially the children to say, ‘Well, if Winsome can do it, I can do it’," she said. "Because I didn’t do anything special except stay in school and study. And I never let anyone walk over me and if they did, they didn’t get a second chance." 

Fox News cameras followed Winsome as she toured the Virginia State Capitol last week. 

"A Black lieutenant governor was handing off to another Black lieutenant governor," she said, referring to herself and current Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. "That has never happened. That is history."