The fallout from the racist sign targeting Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears continues to reverberate, and now it’s shifting the political ground in the governor’s race.
Politico Playbook broke the news Friday morning:
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Betting on red: Robert Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has donated $500,000 to GOP Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign for governor after she was targeted by a racist sign at a recent campaign rally, according to her campaign.
Johnson made clear why he was stepping forward:
He was “so appalled by that racist diatribe … that I choose to show the voters of Virginia how Black Brothers stand up to defend and support their Black Sisters.”
The move is particularly striking because of Johnson’s political history. As Politico noted:
Johnson, who also founded RLJ Companies, was part of Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s fundraising network and backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 before shifting away from the party.
This dramatic show of support from the founder of Black Entertainment Television comes after a firestorm erupted last week when a white liberal activist was caught on camera holding a vile, racist sign at an Earle-Sears campaign event.
Legal Insurrection reported at the time:
When Sears showed up at a school board meeting to talk about transgender issues in education, a liberal white woman was holding a vile sign that read, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.”It’s positively stunning that no one thought to tell this woman to get rid of the sign. Winsome Earle-Sears is black; her family came to America from Jamaica in the 1970s.
Earle-Sears immediately blasted the so-called “tolerant” left for its hypocrisy:
“I’m disgusted, but not surprised,” Earle-Sears said on X. “This is the ‘tolerant’ left Abigail Spanberger defends. I’m the sitting Lieutenant Governor, second in command in the former Capitol of the confederate states. I’m an immigrant, a Marine and above all, a human being. There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our Commonwealth. Anyone who doesn’t condemn this sign is complicit in approving it.”
Legal Insurrection later reported that the woman was alleged to be progressive activist Anita Martineau, who has long been involved with local Democrats, including as a volunteer with Spanberger’s campaign.
“The woman carrying the racist sign was ultimately identified by numerous sources as progressive activist Anita Martineau. According to several sources, she is a campaign volunteer for the Spanberger campaign.”
The Arlington County Democratic Party quickly tried to distance itself:
But Arlington Republicans pushed back, releasing photographic evidence tying Martineau directly to the local party:
That pushback underscored the growing backlash Democrats now face, and helped set the stage for Robert Johnson’s striking decision to throw his financial weight behind Winsome Earle-Sears.
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