The candidates in Virginia's 2025 governor's race are staking out new and unusual ground for their parties as voters start to narrow their focus on the election this November.

In their campaign events and new television ads, on the air as of Tuesday morning, their contrasting strategies are becoming clear.

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Current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears took a page from Gov. Glenn Youngkin's campaign playbook. Youngkin's "Parents Matter" mantra lifted him to victory in 2021, and in Earle-Sears' latest ad, Younkin talks about his deputy in the state government.

"Together, we empowered parents," Youngkin leads the new ad by saying, "made Virginia safer and set records for job growth."

Earle-Sears is taking a more aggressive approa

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