An American flag draped Bill Ficken’s white front door. Another adorned the back of his old Ford Mustang in the open garage below. Leaning against the garage wall, he wiped a forming tear from his eye.

A year ago, Ficken’s adult son passed away. The loss was still fresh in his mind as he spoke with Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears — a door-knocking encounter that quickly became personal.

Earle-Sears lost her oldest daughter, Dejon, and two granddaughters, Victoria and Faith, in a 2012 car crash, less than 3 miles away.

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“They’re supposed to bury us,” the lieutenant governor said.

“Who else can I lean on except God?” Earle-Sears said later in an interview with the Richmond Times-Disp

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