In a past collaboration, Winsome Earle-Sears joined forces with the American Petroleum Institute to advocate for offshore drilling in Virginia, a plan from the Trump administration that specialists cautioned could harm the state’s fishing and tourism sectors and result in significant job losses.
Although environmental advocates and community activists were successful in halting the initiative, the scenario might change with Donald Trump back in office and Earle-Sears pursuing the governorship.
In June 2018, Earle-Sears became part of the American Petroleum Institute’s Explore Offshore Coalition, which aimed to garner support from Black and Hispanic communities for Trump’s offshore drilling proposal spanning from Cape May, NJ to Cape Canaveral, FL. That month, Earle-Sears authored an op-ed for the Daily Press, advocating the initiative as a means to generate employment and lower energy expenses in Virginia.
Earle-Sears asserted, “With the exploration and potential for development of offshore energy resources, Virginia could gain 25,000 jobs, many with an average salary of $116,000 — more than double the commonwealth’s average.”
Her op-ed, however, did not disclose her connection with the American Petroleum Institute, the leading lobbyist for the oil and gas sector, nor did it cite the origins of her data. The same employment and economic projections were reflected in numerous publications by the American Petroleum Institute, including other op-eds from members of the Explore Offshore Coalition.
Environmental organizations challenged the analyses presented by Earle-Sears and the American Petroleum Institute. Research from the nonprofit Oceana indicated that while offshore drilling might create thousands of jobs, it would also endanger millions more. A spill akin to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident could devastate the coastal fishing and tourism industries for an extended period.
In Virginia, such a spill could jeopardize 46,000 jobs and potentially impact military bases, including Norfolk’s naval facility.
The anticipated duration of offshore drilling benefits is limited, meeting oil demand for only two years.
In 2018, Oceana, along with other environmental groups like the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, contending that the permits for seismic testing in offshore oil and gas exploration breached the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Although the lawsuit did not reach a resolution in court, it contributed to delays and growing opposition to offshore drilling. That same year, 20 localities in Virginia formally opposed the plan, and the Democrats’ success in the 2018 midterms helped indefinitely pause the Trump administration’s offshore drilling efforts.
In April, Trump instructed the Interior Department to begin soliciting public input on a fresh five-year offshore drilling strategy. This came after he revoked an executive order by former President Joe Biden that had barred offshore drilling in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Earle-Sears has not yet made a public statement regarding new offshore drilling proposals in Virginia. In contrast, her Democratic rival, former Representative Abigail Spanberger, expresses her opposition on her campaign website.
The website notes, “In Congress, Abigail built a record of working with both parties to lower greenhouse gas emissions in a responsible way. She focused on increasing energy efficiency, protecting Virginia’s coastline from offshore drilling, and safeguarding Virginia’s natural resources for future generations.”
A 2024 Ipsos poll commissioned by Oceana revealed that 64% of registered voters prefer protecting coastlines from offshore drilling, and 63% support moving away from offshore drilling toward renewable energy sources.
Representatives for Earle-Sears did not provide a response to inquiries about this topic.
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