Earle-Sears presses Spanberger on nude locker room question in heated Virginia debate

Gov. Winsome Earl Sears held no punches in her attack on her Democratic opponent in the Virginia governor’s race, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, when Thursday night’s debate turned to transgender issues and locker rooms.

“We know girls want privacy,” Earl Sears said. “[Spanberger] Vote for naked men in girls’ locker rooms, in bathrooms, and in girls’ sports.”

She turned to Spanberger and asked, “Are you going to change clothes in the gym when the guys are naked in the locker rooms? Are you going to do that?”

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Earlier this month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive ensuring bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate spaces remain separate by sex assigned at birth. The directive also directs the state Board of Health to prohibit biological males from competing on women’s sports teams.

When asked directly whether she would rescind the directive, Spanberger sidestepped the question and declined to give a specific answer.

“My answer is that in every community decisions should be made between parents and teachers and teachers in each community. They should not be dictated by politicians,” Spanberger replied. “I am a mother of three daughters in public schools in Virginia, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools,” Spanberger added in response to questions about her position on transgender issues.

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Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl Sears speaks to the crowd during a rally to announce that she will seek her party’s nomination for governor of Virginia in 2025 at Chick’s Oyster Bar in Virginia Beach, Virginia, September 5, 2024. (Christine Zeiss/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“Naked men in dressing rooms – that’s what it’s about,” Earl Sears asserted.

“There should never be naked men in locker rooms,” Spanberger said at the end.

“We finally got her to say it! But you voted for it!” Earl Sears replied. “Are we in agreement now?”

“I will answer the question which my opponent has refused to answer,” said Earl Sears. “I will not rescind the governor’s executive order.”

Throughout the discussion, Earl Sears sought to address Spanberger directly, but Spanberger would not bite.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, speaks at a campaign rally on November 4, 2023, Virginia Beach, Virginia. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File)

In addition to Spanberger’s evasiveness Thursday night, the Democratic Party nominee similarly sidestepped questions about transgender issues during the campaign trail leading up to the debate.

When Fox News Digital previously reached out to Spanberger in August, about her views on bathroom access for transgender students, the former Virginia congresswoman did not directly address the issue.

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“As a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, “A former federal law enforcement officer and gubernatorial candidate, Abigail’s priority is ensuring that all Virginia children are safe and supported,” a representative for Spanberger said at the time. “While Abigail’s rival, Winsome Earl Sears, is divisive and supports the Trump administration’s threats to strip funding from Virginia schools, Abigail, as Virginia’s next governor, will work to protect public school funding, address the commonwealth’s chronic teacher shortage, and address our recent ranking in the nation’s math recovery.”

Beyond Youngkin’s executive direction, issues surrounding transgender bathrooms and sports loom large throughout the commonwealth. In August, the Department of Education found five school districts in Northern Virginia in violation of Title IX for failing to roll back policies allowing transgender students. Last month, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits brought by two of the counties, seeking to challenge the Trump administration’s finding that limits federal funding to counties unless they make a change.

Meanwhile, a case involving two Virginia boys who were suspended and found guilty by their school of sexual harassment, after they were caught on camera complaining to each other about their transgender classmate using their locker room, is also currently playing out in federal court.