Then Gov. Glenn Youngkin from Virginia found out that Republican research had linked the nominee of the Gop for Lieutenant -Governor to a blog with photos of naked men, he tried to save his party from an embarrassing situation.
Mr. Youngkin called the candidate, John Reid, an old conservative Talk -Radio presenter in Richmond, and told him that he had to leave his campaign because the website would certainly be discovered and refuel the entire ticket of the party.
“I want you to stop,” said Mr. Youngkin, according to two people who were informed about the call.
Then something funny happened. Mr. Reid did not stop. Instead, he posted a five-minute video on social media and noted that he is gay and explained that he had viewed pornography and had one-night stands in the past. The Republican base in Virginia quickly came around him.
It also revealed a stunning lack of political juice from Mr. Youngkin, who was taken into consideration A potential republican presidential candidate Since the day he won the election as governor in 2021. A rich former private equity director, he is generally credited for saving Virginia Republicans of oblivion and has rebuilt and financed a large part of the Staatspartij since his victory.
The contretemps are when Democrats are preferred to win the November elections for the Governor of Virginia, one of this year’s tent races. Only once since 1977 Let the voters of Virginia have elected a governor of the same party as the president.
Virginia Democrats are particularly optimistic this year because Mr Trump is very unpopular in the state, which is the victims of the fired from the federal government. Mr Youngkin, who can no longer run because of term limits, lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears as his Republican successor but has raised less than half as much money As the Democratic nominated, former representative Abigail Spanberger.
The controversy has distributed Virginia Republicans and further affected their hope. When Mr. Youngkin maneuvered for Mr. Reid to push it out, the Maga -Basis of the party De Gouverneur quickly labeled an establishment Stooge.
“It’s five on one,” said John Fredericks, a right-wing talk-radio presenter who syndicated a daily show in Virginia. “They want Reid to stay in the race. They think the establishment is trying to fuck him. Who cares about tumblrs? Nobody cares about it.”
The problems in Virginia started at the end of last month when Mr. Reid’s only opponent in the Republican primary match for Lieutenant -Governor stopped after undergoing heart surgery.
The Republican State Leadership Committee, the arm of the party that helps candidates for Lieutenant -Gouverneur then produced a basic research document about Mr. Reid. It included the Tumblr blog, which had the same username he used on other social media sites and has since been removed. The Washington Post described Its content as “ranging from explicit photos from male sexual organs to images that are typical of a spicy underwear advertisement.”
Mr. Reid, whose father served in the legislative power of Virginia and Once fired a gun accidentally in its Capitol officedenied the author of the Tumblr.
In an extraordinary move he placed his Five of five minutes of the situation and promised to stay in the race while they are for portraits of Mr. Youngkin and Mrs. Earle-Sears are standing. He said he had attended drag shows in Richmond, but the Tumblr called a “fake account” and said that it was his idea of him “a total, manufactured internet linger”.
“Have I seen porn? Yes,” he said. “Have I had one-night stands? Are my exes still in love with me? No. What else can I tell you? Why am I the candidate who has to answer these questions? It is because I am openly gay, and I have never bent for the establishment and I will not do that. “
There is no mechanism in the Virginia election law that would enable the Republicans to force Mr Reid out of the race. Mr. Reid, who refused to be interviewed for this article, has remained challenging because the controversy has introduced typical Republican alliances.
Mrs. Earle-Sears kept her distance from Mr. Reid. A Christian conservative, she wrote a letter by hand Last year to explain himself “morally against” to legislation signed by Mr Youngkin who forbade the officials of Virginia to refuse a wedding permit because of sex, gender or race.
Still others on the right wing of the party have Mr. Reid embraced. The Republican Commission of Loudoun County Sell now “I support John Reid” T-shirts for $ 25 can be used in eight colors.
Although Mr. Fredericks said that the Republican base thought that Mr Reid was being treated unfairly, he predicted that the Republican ticket would lose if he didn’t stop.
“We tend to litigate our preliminary elections in Virginia all the way to the general elections,” said John Whitbeck, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. “This is another example of how we shoot ourselves in the party.”
There is no shortage of republicans that focus on each other’s feet.
Mr. Reid’s lawyer sent A cease and head letter To Mr Youngkin’s old political adviser, who had tried to develop Mr. Reid’s departure from the race. The adviser then abandoned from his post. The two sides have traded accusing letters, Leaked recordings of meetings To the Richmond News Media and drift threats of new harmful information about the Lord Reid.
Mr. Youngkin has tried to explain something of a truce, and Mr. Reid has taken the victory rounds while he serves as A guest host on the radio show of Mr. Fredericks.
“This situation has clearly risen further than someone who meant,” said Tim Anderson, a former state legislator of Virginia, who helps the Lord Reid campaign. “This should never have been a public spectacle, and he should have had the chance to meet stakeholders privately to find resolution or to show his defense before he was asked to resign.”
Mr Youngkin, for his part, told reporters in Richmond last week that the stay in the race “The decision of John Reid” was after being asked if he would be a campaign with Mr. Reid.
“He clearly decided that he will stay,” said Mr. Youngkin. “And so he is the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Gouverneur. And I think the debate can stop there, because that is the answer.”
Mr Youngkin refused an interview request and now supports Mr. Reid’s campaign.
“The governor supports the GOP ticket,” said Becca Glover, Mr Youngkin’s spokeswoman. “We’re moving forward.”
- Advertisement -
