Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announced her bid to succeed term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2025, telling Fox News that she wants to build on her fellow Republican’s record of revitalizing the Old Dominion’s economy.

Earle-Sears, if successful in the primary, will potentially face Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., if the similarly prominent Virginian wins the Democratic primary.

“We really have to win, because the other side is wanting to do all kinds of machinations and so many ‘gotcha’ stuff that’s not going to help propel Virginia forward,” Earle-Sears said on Friday.

Sears said that Youngkin’s single term has laid a “great foundation” for a like-minded successor.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS ON SUPREME COURT RULING: CHINA ISN’T ‘PLAYING STUPID GAMES’ ON RACE

“We’ve got to keep building on that. We have had corporate headquarters that have moved here — even from overseas. We have grown businesses here. We have been an incubator for business,” Earle-Sears said on “Fox & Friends.”

“It’s all about business, because that’s where the money comes from, so that we can have the beautiful things we like; the quality of life, the schools, the roads, the bridges, all of that.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital, a Youngkin spokesman similarly praised Earle-Sears and called her a “steadfast partner” over the past four years.

“Governor Youngkin is squarely focused on helping Republicans win in Virginia in 2024, because this election is about strength versus weakness — a strong economy, a secure border and strong America,” Justin Discigil said Friday.

FORMER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR PRAISES GLENN YOUNGKIN

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivers the VCU commencement address in Richmond, Virginia, May 11, 2024. (Parker Michels-Boyce for The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Parker Michels-Boyce for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“The 2025 election will be about continuing the extraordinary results from commonsense policies that are making Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family versus returning to the failed extremism of the left-progressive agenda.”

Earle-Sears, who emigrated from Jamaica as a youth, would be the first Black woman to hold such an office in Richmond.

She served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was previously a state legislator from Virginia Beach. Earle-Sears noted Friday that her initial win there had been a major upset in a majority-Democratic district.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, center, signs executive orders in the Governor’s conference room as Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, left, Suzanne Youngkin, second from left, Attorney General Jason Miyares, second from right, and Secretary of the Commonwealth, Kay Cole James, right, look on at the Capitol Saturday Jan. 15, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

“I only had three months to run and no money,” she said.

“When you have the right ideas, and when you know the voters have given you a mandate to run, to move forward, then you’ve just got to press forward,” she said on Fox News Channel.

“You have hostile legislators who want to stop you [in] every way because they’re thinking you’re going to get a win — but the win is for the people.”

EXCLUSIVE – LAS VEGAS – Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, the chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign committee, is making his pitch to top dollar donors and influential conservative activists in order to remedy the cash disparity between GOP campaigns and those of Democrats.

“We need your help to close the fundraising gap,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair emphasized as he addressed the crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting. “We have the right candidates. Let’s get them the resources they need to win.”

Minutes earlier, in an interview with Fox News Digital, Daines pointed to the GOP’s fundraising gap as compared to the Democrats as Republicans aim to win back the Senate majority and acknowledged, “it’s a concern of mine.”

“There are winnable races right now that we may not be able to bring across the finish line because of lack of resources. We are literally two months away from the most consequential election of my lifetime,” Daines emphasized. “That’s why we’re working very, very hard to make sure we’re ringing that alarm bell to get to donors.”

REPUBLICAN AIMING TO FLIP DEMOCRAT HELD SENATE SEAT IN RED STATE MAKING GAINS 

Democrats have outraised and outspent their Republican counterparts in the 2024 battle for the Senate majority, and looking forward, they have dished out more money for ad reservations for the final two months leading up to Election Day on Nov. 5.

Senate Democrats and outside groups supporting them have made significantly larger post-Labor Day ad reservations in four of the seven key Senate battlegrounds, per AdImpact. In Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona each, Democratic ad reservation spending is at least double that of their respective Republican opponents, presenting a stark obstacle for GOP candidates, some of whom already face name recognition issues and the hurdle of taking on an incumbent. 

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POLLS 

Overall, Democrats have an advantage over their Republican Senate foes with nearly $348 million in planned spending in pivotal races across the country ahead of election day, compared to Republicans’ over $255 million. 

The relatively small GOP expenditures in Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona appear to be a result of massive prioritized pro-Republican Senate buys in Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Republicans are managing to outspend Democrats in these states, but their opponents have still boasted similarly large planned spending. In Ohio, while Republicans had $81.9 million reserved, Democratic future spending wasn’t far behind at $78.3 million, according to AdImpact. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Detroit on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fueling the financial disparity, the surge in Democratic Party enthusiasm and fundraising in the month and a half since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the party’s 2024 ticket in the White House race against former President Donald Trump.

“You just saw in the last 48 hours Kamala Harris announce she’s directing $25 million of her presidential campaign dollars down-ballot including $10 million for Senate Democrats,” Daines spotlighted. “There’s not many things Kamala Harris does well but one thing she does well is raise money. So this does have us concerned.”

However, Daines said there is a silver lining when it comes to Harris replacing the 81-year-old Biden in the White House race.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAMPAIGN CHAIR GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH FOX NEWS

“What it does is it helps us take the age issue off the table because that was one of the reasons that Biden did so poorly. It was more about his age than anything else,” Daines said. “This now gets us laser focused on policy. This is going to be a policy contrast election….For the first time in decades, we have the results of two different administrations to run against – President Trump’s four years and Kamala Harris’ four years. Two very different administrations – very different outcomes. That contrast, we think will be very helpful for us in the key Senate races.”

Democrats control the Senate by a razor-thin 51-49 margin, and Republicans are looking at a favorable election map this year with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at 1st Summit Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

One of those seats is in West Virginia, a deep red state that Trump carried by nearly 40 points in 2020. With moderate Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Manchin, a former governor, not seeking re-election, flipping the seat is nearly a sure thing for the GOP.

Additionally, in Daines’ home state of Montana and in Ohio, two states Trump comfortably carried four years ago, Republicans are aiming to defeat Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown.

Five more Democratic-held seats are up for grabs this year in crucial presidential-election battleground states.

With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan of blue-state Maryland’s late entry into the Senate race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

Daines, for the first time, definitely said his party would recapture the majority.

“We will win the Senate majority” Daines told Fox News.

“Fifty-one is the number that we want to get to. Clearly, there’s an opportunity to get beyond that, but 51 is the number we’ve got to get to,” he stressed.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Under California law, anyone caught diverting water in violation of a state order has long been subject to only minimal fines. State legislators have now decided to crack down on violators under a newly approved bill that sharply increases penalties.

Assembly Bill 460 was passed by the Legislature last week and is among the water-related measures awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. Other bills that were approved aim to protect the state’s wetlands and add new safeguards for the water supplies of rural communities.

Supporters say increasing fines for violations will help the State Water Resources Control Board more effectively enforce its orders to curtail water use when necessary.

“It helps the water board enforce the laws that they have on the books,” said Analise Rivero, associate director of policy for the group California Trout, which co-sponsored the bill.

The bill, which was introduced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), is intended to prevent the sort of violations that occurred in 2022 in the Shasta River watershed, when farmers and ranchers who belong to the Shasta River Water Assn. defied a curtailment order for eight days and diverted more than half the river’s flow, flouting requirements aimed at protecting salmon.

The state water board fined the association the maximum amount for the violation: $4,000, which worked out to about $50 for each of its members. Those small fines didn’t deter farmers and ranchers from reducing the river’s flow to a point that threatened salmon and affected the supplies of downstream water users.

The case in Siskiyou County led to widespread calls for larger fines and stronger enforcement powers.

The legislation increases fines for violations of state water curtailment to as much as $10,000 per day, plus $2,500 for each acre-foot of water diverted. (An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or enough to cover one acre a foot deep.)

“This bill closes that loophole and makes the existing law stronger, and it’s an important step in disincentivizing water theft,” Rivero said.

Rivero said being able to impose larger fines is important as California grapples with the effects of climate change on water supplies.

Leaders of a coalition of environmental groups urged Newsom to sign the bill. In a letter, they said enforcing harsher penalties for violators is crucial for the state water board to “fulfill its mission of protecting fish, water, and people.”

Bauer-Kahan said that for too long, breaking the law and paying the fines have been seen as the cost of doing business by some illegal water diverters.

“Although we did not go far enough in ensuring that our water rights system functions in times of scarcity, we did take an important step,” Bauer-Kahan said.

The legislation raises penalties to “better hold those who steal water accountable,” she said. “Water is a precious resource, and we must do everything possible to ensure its protection.”

Proponents of the bill made some sacrifices to secure sufficient support in the Legislature, dropping a provision that would have given the state water board authority to act faster in emergencies to prevent “irreparable injury” to streams, fish or other water users.

The result was a relatively modest reform, but one that serves an important purpose, said Cody Phillips, staff attorney for the group California Coastkeeper Alliance.

“Being able to get the California Legislature to agree to increase fines in water is a major deal for the practical consequences of preventing water theft, but also to show that we can change these important details about our water rights system, and the sky doesn’t fall,” Phillips said.

Other proposals have recently encountered strong opposition from agricultural groups and water agencies.

Phillips and other environmental advocates supported another bill, AB 1337, which sought to clarify the state water board’s authority to issue curtailment orders for all diverters, including senior rights holders that use a large portion of the state’s water. But that bill didn’t secure enough support to pass this year in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

“Water is often referred to as the third rail in California politics, and we’ve seen that any changes, even modest changes, like 460 and frankly 1337, are met with ferocious pushback,” Phillips said. “But we can’t avoid these issues — climate change, overallocation, they’ve all led to a system where the way that we deal with water just doesn’t work.”

Some legal experts said the bill is a step in the right direction.

“We know that water is the single most important resource in the state, and yet we do not have a clear understanding of who uses it, where, and when, and we do not have a robust system for correcting unlawful use,” said Jennifer Harder, a professor at University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law.

Harder said the state needs to continue improving collection of water use data and should adopt measures to improve oversight of water rights. She said she is optimistic that “local water suppliers will come to understand that state-level standards can support and enhance local management.”

One of the other water-related measures passed by the Legislature included a bill intended to protect California’s wetlands after the rollback of federal protections under a Supreme Court decision last year. The court’s ruling in Sackett vs. EPA rewrote the federal definition of wetlands and removed federal protections for many streams that do not flow year-round, leaving ephemeral streams vulnerable to development and pollution.

If signed by Newsom, the bill, AB 2875, will codify an executive order that then-Gov. Pete Wilson issued in 1993 establishing a state policy of “no net loss” of wetlands and calling for a long-term increase in the acreage of wetlands. Despite that policy, the state has continued to lose more wetland acres to development during the last three decades.

“We have wetlands that only flow certain times of year, and they are seasonal, ephemeral streams that were stripped of protections, and yet they are really, really important biologically and for habitat,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who introduced the legislation.

Wetlands and a riparian forest are sustained by groundwater at the National Audubon Society’s Kern River Preserve.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Friedman and other supporters of the measure have stressed that because more than 90% of California’s original wetlands have already been drained and destroyed, strong protections for those that remain are vital. They say since the Supreme Court has scaled back the Clean Water Act’s federal protections for wetlands, the state will need to play a bigger role.

“We care about our state’s natural resources here in California, and it’s a shame that we right now have a Supreme Court that doesn’t seem to be very concerned about the kind of destruction that we’re seeing to our environment,” Friedman said. “It falls on states to really play whack-a-mole and catch up, because we have relied for a long time on existing, long-standing federal regulations.”

Scientists have documented major declines in North American bird populations since the 1970s, and they cite causes including the loss of habitats and warmer, drier conditions driven by climate change, among other factors.

The bill was sponsored by leaders of Audubon California, who called the measure an important step toward protecting wetland habitats that birds need to survive.

The bill doesn’t create a new regulatory framework but does make “a strong statement that California will protect and add wetlands,” said Mike Lynes, Audubon California’s director of public policy. “We’ve already lost so much of our natural wetland habitat. We’ve seen a decline in biodiversity, and there’s a ton of benefits by creating wetlands, not only for ecosystems, but also for flood control and for recreational opportunities, whether it’s birding, hunting, just hiking out in wetland areas.”

Another bill that was approved, AB 828, is aimed at improving safeguards for managed wetlands that are sustained by groundwater pumping, as well as rural communities that depend on wells. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), would allow these managed wetlands and small communities to temporarily continue to pump amounts of water in line with historical averages without facing mandatory reductions or fees imposed by local agencies under the state’s groundwater law.

Supporters said they proposed the change after several local agencies proposed groundwater allocations that would excessively limit supplies for communities or wildlife areas while also limiting pumping by agricultural landowners who are the largest water users.

“It sets a pause on pumping restrictions for small community water systems and managed wetlands, and on some fees, until those issues and their needs are considered,” Lynes said.

Some communities in the Central Valley have faced unworkable requirements to cut water use dramatically and start paying high fees for exceeding those limits, said Jennifer Clary, state director for the group Clean Water Action.

“We wanted a long-term exemption, but there was a lot of concern in the Legislature about that,” Clary said.