Republican candidates in Virginia governors' contest sign onto anti-critical race theory pledge

The majority of Republican candidates for Virginia governor have signed onto a pledge opposing critical race theory, reflecting how politically salient the issue has become in both the state and nation as a whole.

It's part of a broader campaign by the group, which was inspired by former President Trump's commission of similar name. While the pledge doesn't explicitly mention "critical race theory," it does employ language echoing previous defenses against the ideology. "Our young people should be taught to view one another not according to race or gender, but as individuals made in the image of God," it reads. It also states that "[t]eaching children to hate their country and each other is immoral and deeply harmful to our society and must be stopped."