Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears of Virginia could make history next year as the nation's first Black woman to win election as a governor.

She would also make history as Virginia's first female governor.

But Sears, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital, emphasized that "I'm not really running to make history. I'm just trying to, as I've said before, leave it better than I found it, and I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had."

Sears, who was born in the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. as a 6-year-old, served in the Marines and is a former state lawmaker. She made history three years ago when she won election as Virginia's first female lieutenant governor.