The explosion radius from the controversy over Virginia’s Republican candidate Li expanded this week when Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top political aide resigned from his post. His departure was the latest event in a week of chaos, pitting the state’s Republican leaders against the grassroots of the GOP and overturning a party that had already faced a difficult election year.
The conflict focuses on the political future of Lt. Col. John Reid, who resisted a week of pressure from the Virginia Republican leadership and resisted aside allegations he maintained. Social Media Accounts With sexually explicit images of men. Reid, the first openly gay candidate in Virginia’s statewide office, denied that he was connected to the photo, claiming that his efforts to remove him from Republican tickets were rooted in discrimination against his sexual orientation.
When Virginia Republican leaders noticed the photos, some tried to kick the lead out of the race. Young Kin I asked Reed. It was confirmed last week by Politico. However, attempts to drive him backfire. Matt Moran ran Youngkin’s Political Operationgot aside after being accused of putting pressure on Reed to remove himself from his GOP ticket – something Moran publicly denied.
Moran did not respond to requests for comment. Youngkin’s representative pointed out comment He refused to say from the governor on Friday whether he would campaign on Reid’s behalf, but said, “I support the candidates and their tickets, and at the end of the day, Republicans need to win.”
Fallout created a rift within the party facing the tough battles of November. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s war on the federal workforce has hit hard in a state where more than 150,000 federal employees live. The Republican-recognized controversy could hurt Youngkin’s efforts to position himself as a presidential candidate for 2028, and it is widely regarded as a misstep.
“If John Reed is conservative and he’s been destroyed by his own political party, you need to get out there and support him.” sale There’s a “We trust at John Reed” mug and the procedure is heading towards Reed’s campaign. “You need to lean on the guy and support him, not run away from him.”
One Virginia Republican, who fell in love with others in this article, was given anonymity to speak freely, shrugged the photo as “just a bunch of penis,” but said of another episode, “this is insane.”
The second operative said the day before Moran’s departure was made public, “the only winner here is Democrats, Republicans, a bunch of losers starting with the governor and going on to the rest of the ticket.”
However, GOP consultant Rory Cooper dismissed the drama as “purely Virginia’s.” This has attracted the attention of mainly political insiders and probably won’t affect elections six months apart.
“The choice of candidates is important and the party is united. They really have no choice, so I think they’ll get something like this behind them,” Cooper said. “The broken party cannot defeat a Democrat who is highly favorable to enter the general, so they will understand that.”
That message of unity appears to be reflected by the lead’s campaign.
“John is proud to be a Republican candidate and looks forward to a campaign across the state over the next few months,” Reid’s campaign said in a statement. “He is very clear that he welcomes the support of the governor, the full ticket and all Virginians who are committed to unity around our tickets and a positive future in our home.”
Not limited to strategists within the GOP for fear that controversy could weaken GOP tickets. Presumed GOP Governor candidate Winsome Earle-Sears focused on the lead in an official statement cited from Matthew’s book on Tuesday, focusing on the lead with a distraction from what was cast as a mission to unite Virginians. “It’s his race and his decision to move forward,” she said. Earle-Sears did not respond to the question.
Earl Sears, who wrote a Christian self-help book, holds socially conservative beliefs. In 2024, she wrote a letter when she served as a lieutenant governor signing the law. Her personal objections A bill prohibiting civil servants from refusing marriage licenses based on gender, gender, and race.
Reed held a solo rally in Henrico, Virginia Wednesday evening after the entire GOP ticket to appear with Youngkin was scrapped. Faced with a large crowd, Reed opposed the “Swamp of Richmond.”
The fact that Reed draws fervent grassroots support in the GOP represents another marker of the ongoing populist transformation of the party that has opposed social conservatism, particularly same-sex marriage, for decades. The change, embodied by the election of Trump, a three-time New York reality television star, has led to major Republican voters focusing on “fighting” rather than “family values.”
The attempt to drive Reid out and the confusion that followed may be because they have not completely caught up with the grassroots on the issue. A third Republican operative familiar with the situation said some Virginia Republicans panic about Reid’s sexual orientation being a resistance to election, and there is a sense that using social media accounts to work in the opposite direction and justifying him dropping him from the ticket.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Republican, said that attorney general Jason Miyares, a black woman and openly gay man, the son of Cuban refugees, should help Republican odds in November. “That’s a good thing. How good a story,” he said. He mentioned the candidate’s background. “And that story should be overwritten, assuming that it’s not so bad as those photos were drawn.”
On Thursday morning, Reid guest-hosted a four-hour conservative radio show, with a morning in which a string of callers smacking Youngkin and his allies. Reed said he had secured a guest spot before being asked to leave the race, but had buried it for host John Fredericks. Reid described him as “friend.”
“Everyone who’s about to come out against you learned a lesson on what to do last night,” the Virginia caller said, named Casey. Another caller went right after Youngkin and called the governor “just a Reno.”
The backlash is not a foreshadowing for Youngkin, who is being limited in the state and is looking for another opportunity. How he navigates this situation in his party could have a major impact on his political future.
Reed’s only major opponent, longtime Fairfax County supervisor Pat Herity, dropped out of the race later last month due to health concerns, locking Reed as a candidate.
“If you were worried about me being gay, why didn’t you run a lot of other people?” Reed said on a radio show Thursday morning.
But staying on a ticket is one thing. Winning in November is another thing.
Democrat Suhas Suhas Subramanyam, who represents parts of northern Virginia, said it doesn’t matter who the GOP will nominate as lieutenant governor, as the federal overhaul of the Trump administration created a harsh environment for Downburot Republicans in the state where many federal employees live.
“The Virginians are angry right now,” Subramanyam said. “Everyone Republican candidate will pay a price for what’s going on in DC in November.”
Ally Mutnick contributed the report.
