Virginia Republicans are splintering over GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s name for the celebration’s lieutenant-governor nominee to step apart — after the hopeful was accused of posting homosexual porn on Tumblr.
Youngkin requested embattled candidate John Reid, a radio host within the Richmond space, to withdraw because the nominee upon studying of the photographs of bare males posted on an account utilizing Reid’s Instagram deal with final month.
Reid has denied the account is his and refused to step apart — leaving celebration devoted scrambling to unify about six months out from the state’s bellwether 2025 off-year election.
“That’s not my account,” Reid insisted after the scandal was unearthed by the Richmonder. “Anybody on the Web can open accounts with the identical or related names as different individuals.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Allies of Reid have accused Youngkin and his allies of focusing on the candidate due to his sexuality. Reid is Virginia’s first overtly homosexual statewide nominee.
However Youngkin has deemed the gay-porn scandal a “distraction” that can doubtless damage the celebration if allowed to proceed.
“One of the reasons why I called John last Friday morning was because these kinds of situations, where there is just a historical recognition that social media and explicit, explicit social media content like this is a distraction,” Youngkin informed reporters final week.
“It’s a distraction for campaigns, and it’s a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues, and here we are today talking about fentanyl and saving lives, and the distraction is present,” he mentioned. “He and I had a very serious personal conversation.”
A number of key Republicans within the state shortly hit again on the governor for being so fast to activate Reid.
If that is how the Governor’s political operation needs to shut out his time period in Richmond — by tossing a grenade into the statewide Republican ticket — it’s actually a disgrace,” Arlington GOP Chair Matthew Damage mentioned in an electronic mail blast.
Virginia gubernatorial wannabe and present Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, shunned calling on Reid to step apart.
“John Reid is the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor. It is his race and his decision alone to move forward,” she mentioned in an announcement. “We all have our own race to run.”
Earle-Sears is locked in a really powerful gubernatorial race towards former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Dems’ choose within the state race. Youngkin can not run for re-election this time round, as Virginia governors can’t serve two consecutive phrases.
After days of controversy, Youngkin started hanging a extra conciliatory tone towards Reid and harassed that it could in the end be the nominee’s resolution about whether or not to remain within the race.
“We’ve got to get on with winning. This is John Reid’s decision. He is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor,” Youngkin informed reporters late final week. “He has clearly made up his thoughts that he’s going to remain in.
“I think the debate can stop there, ’cause that’s the answer. I have said that I will support the nominees and their ticket.”
Matt Moran, who has been a longtime high staffer for Youngkin and helmed the Spirit of Virginia PAC, denied accusations that he had been conspiring to stress Reid out of the race.
“I’ve known John Reid for years and consider him a friend,” Moran mentioned on X final week.
“Over the last nine days, I was actively supporting and assisting John as the Lt. Governor nominee of the Republican Party. Let me be clear, facts matter, and they will demonstrate the accusations against me are unfounded.”
Youngkin, who beforehand served as co-CEO of economic powerhouse The Carlyle Group, received the governor’s workplace in an upset 2021 election. He’s the primary Republican governor to win the highest Virginia workplace since 2009.
That breakthrough has sparked presidential buzz for Youngkin and led to hypothesis that he could possibly be a contender within the 2028 elections.
In the meantime, he’s hoping to protect GOP beneficial properties within the state, which has usually hewed blue up to now twenty years.
However Republicans are going through important headwinds in Virginia heading into the off-year election. The state, alongside New Jersey, is mostly seen as a barometer of the nationwide temper that would foreshadow what’s going to occur within the 2026 midterms.
Nestled subsequent to Washington, DC, Virginia has been disproportionately battered by job cuts the Trump administration has made by way of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
Virginia is dwelling to about 145,000 federal staff, a minimum of a fifth of whom reside simply throughout the Potomac River from DC. To counter this, Youngkin has launched an internet site, virginiahasjobs.com, in addition to a useful resource package deal for these unemployed due to the cuts.
The GOP is fearing that voter backlash towards the Trump administration could possibly be a boon for Virginia Democrats come November.
