A bus from Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears‘s campaign for governor caught fire Thursday afternoon near Lydia, Virginia.
Everyone aboard the bus made it out safely, and none of the candidates were in the vehicle when the fire occurred, the Earle-Sears campaign told the Washington Examiner. The incident occurred less than one week out from Election Day in the gubernatorial race.
The campaign bus was traveling to a campaign event Thursday.
“While en-route to an event, our campaign bus caught fire. Everyone is safe. Thank you to the first responders who got to the scene quickly — we are so grateful for you,” Earle-Sears wrote on X.
Sheriff Steve Smith of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office said it was a fire in the motor area of the vehicle, but that authorities didn’t yet know what sparked the fire. Smith said the department doesn’t believe it was “anything suspicious” and said the scene was clear.
Police at the scene told the Washington Examiner they were considering deploying a hazmat team due to uncertainty surrounding the presence of hazardous chemicals.
The campaign has a rally scheduled in Harrisonburg, Virginia, at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon. Both Earle-Sears and her candidate for lieutenant governor, John Reid, are set to appear at the event.
Earle-Sears’s opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), spoke on the incident during a campaign event of her own Thursday afternoon. “I am so relieved that reportedly everyone is OK,” Spanberger said during the event, also echoing the same sentiment on X earlier in the afternoon.
“I’m relieved to hear @winwithwinsome and her team are safe after her campaign bus caught on fire this afternoon. I’m grateful to our first responders for their quick action — and I’m thinking of the Lt. Governor and her team after this scary incident,” Spanberger wrote on X.
KEY PEOPLE TO WATCH IN LOOMING 2025 VIRGINIA ELECTIONS
The election between Earle-Sears and Spanberger is on Tuesday, with Virginia voters deciding which of the candidates will succeed term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA).
Voters in the state will also pick their next lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Samantha-Jo Roth contributed to this story.
