Why Is Susan Collins Mixed Up in the Virginia Governor’s Race?

Clicking the donate button sends viewers to a WinRed page, a fundraising platform for the Republican Party, with Earle-Sears’s campaign logo at the top. A donation plea reads, “George Soros and Hollywood liberals are all stacking BIG money against me and my team in this must-win race. Please donate even just $10 to help me keep up with the Left’s dark money!” Fine-print enthusiasts, take note: Small text under red buttons with different amounts specifies that donations “will benefit Collins for Senator,” rather than a split donation between the two campaigns or to Earle-Sears’s campaign only.

The New Republic reached out to the Collins campaign for comment on the fundraising pitch, whether she’s endorsing Earle-Sears, and whether she supports an abortion ban in Virginia, but they did not respond by publication time.

Earle-Sears has taken far-right positions on issues beyond abortion. During an October 9 debate, Earle-Sears said it is not discrimination to fire someone for being gay, a moment that Spanberger made hay of on social media. The Collins email was sent nearly three weeks after those damning comments, and after news broke that Earle-Sears made a $1,800 donation to the Richmond-based Family Foundation, which has described in vitro fertilization, or IVF, as “child trafficking” and opposes same-sex marriage, which alarms LGBTQ advocates, since the state has a ban on the books that could spring back to life if the Supreme Court overturns the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. (Virginia is one of 32 states that would automatically ban same-sex marriage if the precedent is overturned.)