Backfire: Longtime Dem Donor Gives Money To Black GOP Nominee After Racist Attack

A longtime Democratic donor publicly displayed his support for Republican Virginia gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign following a racist attack on the black GOP candidate during a protest outside a school board meeting on Aug. 21.

Robert Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and chairman of asset manager RLJ Companies, contributed $500,000 to Earle-Sears’ campaign, Politico’s Playbook reported on Friday. Johnson, one of the United States’ first black billionaires, said he decided to donate to Earle-Sears’ campaign to stand with the lieutenant governor against a racist attack on her campaign.

Earle-Sears would become the first black female governor in the country if she defeats former Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee, in November.

“Madam Lt. Governor. I was so appalled by that racist diatribe displayed by a useful idiot at a recent press event that I chose to show all the voters of Virginia how Black Brothers stand up to defend and support their Black Sisters when confronted with unadulterated racism,” Johnson wrote to Earle-Sears in a statement provided by the GOP nominee’s campaign. “I have always been a good investor and that’s why I’m investing in you.”