Virginia’s Republican nominee for lieutenant governor is accusing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political advisors 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 the Republican statewide ticket.
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WATCH HEREIn 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.
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.
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SIGN UP Reid said before that, religious activists threatened him with what they described as sexually explicit photos. Then, he says he got a call from Youngkin. 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.
The former Richmond radio talk show host, who has been with his partner for eight years, went public on Friday. He said religious activists threatened to release lewd photos they claimed he had posted on a Tumblr account.
Reid says the photos are not his and the account was fabricated.
Next came the governor’s call 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.”
‘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.
Political analyst Bob Holsworth 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.
News4 contacted Youngkin’s office about Reid’s allegations and did not hear back. GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares were both silent.
“I’m disappointed with Winsome because she hasn’t made a statement one way or the other in this race, and I think that it would benefit her campaign to come out in strong support of John,” Hurtt said.
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.
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