NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger participated in the first and only face-to-face debate this election season. Right off the bat, it got contentious.

Republican Earle-Sears was first asked about how she would finance getting rid of the state’s car tax. She did not lay out a plan, rather she said the state has the money to do it and quickly changed the topic — asking Spanberger when she would call on Jay Jones, the Democratic Attorney General candidate, to step down from the ticket. Jones came under fire last week when it was reported that he sent texts in 2022 to a Republican colleague speculating about shooting former Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert.

Spanberger, a Democrat, condemned the remarks and appeared to distance herself from Jones. But when asked directly by a moderator, she did not call on him to step down and said she was responsible for her own campaign.

“The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,” Spanberger said. “I denounced them when I learned of them, and I will denounce them every opportunity I get … We are all running our individual races. I believe my opponent has said that about her lieutenant governor nominee, and it’s up to every person to make their own decision.”

It was at times difficult to hear Spanberger, as Earle-Sears repeatedly interjected and spoke over her during throughout the debate.

Both candidates said they wanted to get rid of the unpopular car tax, but neither specified how they would come up with the $3 billion it generates for localities. Spanberger said she would work to build consensus for a way forward. Earle-Sears said that the state could have gotten rid of the car tax this year but Democrats rejected that proposal. Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed spending $1.1 billion to fund a credit that would have offset a portion of the car tax for some residents for three years. The proposal would not have gotten rid of the entire car tax.

Here’s what the candidates had to say on several key issues raised during the debate.

Data centers

Answering a question about the potential for data centers to raise the cost of electricity, Spanberger said data center operators and other large electricity users should pay their fair share, and suggested the General Assembly pass legislation to codify that policy.

Earle-Sears criticized the Virginia Clean Energy Act and advocated for an all-of-the-above approach to energy production, but did not say whether data centers should pay fairly for their power use.

She also falsely claimed Spanberger only supported wind and solar power – Spanberger’s website policy page advocates for nuclear, geothermal and other energy sources. Spanberger also said later in the debate she advocated for an all-of-the-above approach.

The debate, hosted by WAVY-TV, was held on the campus of Norfolk State University. Moderators were news anchors Tom Schaad of WAVY-TV in Norfolk and Deanna Allbrittin of WRIC-TV in Richmond.

The winner of the race would be Virginia’s first woman governor.

Early voting is already underway but Election Day is Nov. 4.

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