Gay Virginia GOP nominee accuses governor’s team of extortion, says lewd photos not his
Virginia’s Republican nominee for lieutenant governor is accusing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political advisers of extortion and says they’re trying to force him to end his campaign.
John Reid is the first openly gay man to run on a Republican or Democratic statewide ticket.
In two videos he posted online, he went public with details of what he called Youngkin’s efforts to get him to leave the race. Many Republicans continue to support Reid, a former Richmond radio talk show host who has been with his current partner for eight years.
Reid suddenly became the nominee for lieutenant governor a week ago, when the favorite and only other candidate, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, stepped aside for health reasons.
Reid said before that, “a local religious activist” and two people he has “known for several years” threatened him with what they described as sexually explicit photos they claimed he had posted on a Tumblr account. Reid says the photos are not his and the account was fabricated.
Next came a call from the governor asking him to step down, Reid said. He said when he refused, his aides were contacted again.
“They were told if I dropped out of the race, they would purchase the opposition research and the lies and threat against me would suddenly stop. This is extortion, and it is illegal in Virginia,” Reid said on video. “I am more outraged now.”
Reid said he has no intention of dropping out.
“I’m tougher than any of my detractors, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said in the defiant conclusion to a video he posted online Sunday.
On Tuesday, Youngkin defended his call to Reid, saying concerns about lewd photos distract from key topics.
“Explicit social media content like this is a distraction. It’s a distraction for campaigns, and it’s a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues,” he said at an event on fentanyl awareness.
Youngkin said it’s Reid’s decision to remain in the race or not.
“The decision is John’s and up to John,” he said.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor, also referred to distraction from core issues and left it to Reid to continue with his campaign or not.
“President Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Those biblical words from Matthew 12:25 embody the positive mission of our campaign — to unite and inspire Virginians of all backgrounds. This week, focus on the lieutenant governor nominee distracted from that mission and cannot continue. John Reid is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. It is his race, and his decision alone to move forward. We all have our own race to run,” she said in a statement Tuesday.
Earle-Sears called for a focus on “results, unity and winning in November.”
‘The governor has brought this on the party’
Other Republicans said they’re upset about what they’re seeing unfold.
Matthew Hurtt is the chair of the Arlington County Republican Committee. He contacted his members over the weekend to gauge their reaction.
“More than two-thirds of my members who responded said we don’t think John should drop out, and an even higher percentage of respondents said they would still vote for John in November as the Republican nominee,” he said.
Hurtt blamed the governor’s political action team for the mess.
Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Reid’s allegations.
Political analyst Bob Holsworth, a partner at the public policy consulting firm DecideSmart, said Republicans were already facing an uphill battle in November and this only deepens their challenge.
“Now you have this situation where the governor is largely being seen as an individual who is pushing out a gay man,” he said.
“Republicans have brought this on themselves. The governor has brought this on the party, and they don’t have an easy way out of it,” he continued.
A unity rally with the three statewide candidates and Youngkin had been planned for Wednesday but was cancelled. A rally for Reid was held Monday night in Sterling.
