RICHMOND — Lt. Gov.-elect Winsome E. Sears stepped into the ornate state Senate chamber where she will soon preside, at once awed and in command.

       A week after the Republican became the first woman to win the post and the first woman of color to win any statewide office in Virginia, Sears climbed onto the rostrum Tuesday afternoon, tried out the gavel and savored the historic moment.

       Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight

       “It hit me this morning that a Black lieutenant governor was handing off to another Black lieutenant governor,” she said, referring to outgoing Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D). “And that has never happened. That is history. And that tells you we’ve got progress.”

       Sears, who was born in Jamaica, was touring a Capitol that was not wholly unfamiliar to her. She served as legislator in the state House of Delegates for two years. But that was two decades ago, in a chamber that has its own rules and traditions.

       Back in the Virginia political spotlight, Winsome Sears seeks to lift GOP in bid for lieutenant governor

       She returns in January as Virginia’s second-highest elected official, the person who will break tie votes in a narrowly split Senate and step in if Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) is unable to fulfill his duties.

       Advertisement

       Story continues below advertisement

       A former Marine and a staunch conservative, Sears eschewed identity politics on the campaign trail. But there was no escaping the historic significance of her win. Aides say she will bring a new perspective to the role.

       One person she chose to accompany her on the orientation seemed to send that message: Valerie Coley, an ex-felon who has turned her life around and become a minister and mental health counselor.

       “America gave my father a second chance at life and so I wanted people who were returning to society to see that they can have a second chance at life, and it was significant for me for it to be someone who was formerly incarcerated,” said Sears, who used to run a prison ministry. “Because this is about liberty. This is freedom.”

       Story continues below advertisement

       Youngkin became Virginia governor by wooing both moderates and Trump supporters. So how Trumpy is he?

       Also accompanying Sears was Chris Saxman, a former GOP state delegate and now executive director of Virginia FREE, a pro-business group. He is serving as her transition director.

       Advertisement

       Sears met behind closed doors in the Capitol with Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar, who began the process of getting her up to speed on how to preside over the chamber. Sears also let on that she has been studying for the job, spending more than three hours one night watching an archived video of a Senate session.

       As GOP takes over Richmond, local officials in deep-blue Northern Virginia start to worry

       She seemed near tears at times as she thought of her rise in a country where her father landed with less than $2 in his pocket.

       “I can’t believe I get to do this,” she said. “I really have no words.”

       Story continues below advertisement

       Yet she betrayed no doubts about tackling the job.

       “I’ve just always assumed I belong wherever I go,” she said. “Whatever room I’m in, I belong there. Whatever organization I’m in, I belong there. And if they don’t want me, I will find a way in. That’s all there is to it. You have to assume the position — as we say in the Marine Corps. Just assume it.”

       Advertisement

       The incoming lieutenant governor also showed a playful side. After a few minutes on the Senate floor, she headed in the direction of the rostrum.

       “Shall we?” she asked rhetorically before climbing the steps. “I shall.”

       After trying out the gavel, she picked up a red book on the desk: “George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation.” She flipped through for a moment, then read aloud, “Number 59: Never express anything unbecoming, nor act against the rules moral before your inferiors.”

       Northam welcomes Gov.-elect Youngkin to Virginia Executive Mansion as transition planning gets underway

       She looked around some more and saw a guide to the procedural language she’ll have to use in her role as president of the Senate.

       Story continues below advertisement

       “Oh, I’ve got cheat sheets up here,” she said. Then she tried out one of the lines: “For what purpose does the senator rise?”

       Sears was taken aback when Assistant Senate Clerk Nathan Hatfield, who served as her tour guide, clued her in to how senators and Senate staff members will address her.

       Advertisement

       “When you are here and you are sworn in, we will refer to you here as ‘Governor’ or as ‘Madame President,’ ” he said.

       “Oh, why not ‘Lieutenant Governor?’ ” she asked.

       “It’s just the protocol,” he said.

       She joked that Youngkin, who was separately touring the Capitol that afternoon, might be concerned that she was gunning for his job. “We don’t want him to think anything — not measuring [for] drapes,” she said.

       But she quickly adjusted to the title, saying, “I’ll have to get the people who live in my house to say ‘Madame.’ ”