RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Is the Republican party unified ahead of the November elections? 

“Fundraising opportunities are being wasted. The chance to really make the case for the Republicans in general, the opportunity for that is being lost,” Randolph-Macon Political Science Professor Rich Meagher told 8News. 

That question remains unanswered after the party’s nominee for governor, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, wouldn’t say if she would campaign with her fellow Republican nominees, John Reid (Lieutenant Governor) and Jason Miyares (Attorney General). 

Earle-Sears told Radio IQ earlier this week, “Actually, as you know, we are all running our campaigns.” 

Meagher said that while Earle-Sears is technically correct when she says each office is separately elected, voters may not see it that way. 

“Particularly in this modern, very partisan age, the Democrats are the Democrats and the Republicans are the Republicans, and anyone who’s gonna vote for Sears is going to want to know why they should or shouldn’t vote for Reid and Miyares,” Meagher explained.

The controversy all stems back to when Governor Glenn Youngkin asked Reid to drop out of the race in April after Youngkin learned about a social media account potentially tied to Reid that previously shared sexually explicit images. 

However, Meagher said with Reid staying in the race, Republicans need to show a unified front to improve their chances in November. 

“Anything they can do to combine forces, to use force multipliers, in terms of their donations and their efforts to campaign, anything will help them, and anything they don’t do, any lost opportunity will hurt them,” Meagher told 8News. 

8News reached out to the Earle-Sears campaign to see if the lieutenant governor wanted to clarify her comments. However, we did not receive a statement.