BET co-founder Robert Johnson, longtime Dem donor, backs Earle-Sears after racist protest sign

Billionaire co-founder of Black Entertainment Television is crossing party lines to back Republican gubernatorial nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, citing a racist attack outside an Arlington County School Board meeting.

Robert Johnson, a longtime Democratic donor who previously supported Terry McAuliffe and Hillary Clinton, contributed $500,000 to Earle-Sears’ campaign after a protester displayed a racially charged sign at the Aug. 21 meeting.

Politico first reported the donation, noting Johnson said in a statement 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.”

Earle-Sears would become the nation’s first Black female governor if she defeats Democrat Abigail Spanberger in November. She condemned the sign in an interview, noting it was held up “for a whole hour” without anyone asking the protester to take it down, and called it “spewing hate” and “going back to Klan days.”

With just two months until Election Day, another week brings another poll and once again, Democrat Abigail Spanberger is in the lead.

The SoCal Strategies Virginia Poll of 800 likely voters was conducted Aug. 31–Sept. 1 using the Pollfish online panel. The survey was sponsored through a crowdfund promoted by the Virginia Project, found Spanberger leading Earle-Sears 53% to 41%, with 6% undecided.

Democrats also hold narrow leads in the lieutenant governor and attorney general races, while voters favored Democrats 50–40 on the House of Delegates ballot.

In the attorney general race, both campaigns are escalating their ads. Democrat Jay Jones released an ad this week calling Republican incumbent Jason Miyares “too weak” to stand up to President Donald Trump, accusing him of inaction on health care and the economy.

Miyares, meanwhile, released a new ad centered on the 2021 Loudoun County school sexual assault cases. It claims Democrats, including Jones, weakened reporting requirements in schools and “take the criminal side.” The spot cites a law Jones supported as a delegate that ended mandatory reporting of certain sexual battery cases to law enforcement.