'Bigotry and ugliness': Accusations fly as Virginia GOP roiled by in-fighting

The internal drama roiling Virginia Republicans deepened over the weekend as John Reid, the party’s embattled nominee for lieutenant governor, accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee of extortion — escalating an already explosive rift just months before November’s elections.

In a defiant video posted Sunday afternoon on X, Reid alleged that a representative of Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC told his team the organization would purchase damaging opposition research and “the lies and threats against me would suddenly stop” if he agreed to drop out of the race.

The allegations come just 48 hours after it became public that Youngkin had personally asked Reid to withdraw over concerns about a social media account linked to explicit content.

Reid, a conservative radio host and the first openly gay statewide candidate from either party in Virginia, said he had hoped the controversy would settle, but instead the pressure had intensified.

“I had certainly hoped that we could put the bigotry and ugliness of last week behind us and unify our Republican ticket this year,” Reid said in the video. “But shockingly, once again representatives of my campaign have been told by the leader of Governor Youngkin’s political organization that the attacks on me will continue unless I drop out of the race for lieutenant governor.”

Spirit of Virginia is headed by political consultant Matt Moran, vice president of Creative Direct.

Under Virginia law, it is a crime to threaten a person’s reputation, safety, property, or immigration status in order to extort money, property, or any financial benefit. Specifically, the law classifies it as a Class 5 felony to use threats, accusations of criminal conduct, or the misuse of immigration documents as leverage for financial or personal gain.

However, Eric Claville, a political and legal analyst at Norfolk State University, urged caution before drawing any legal conclusions from Reid’s allegations.

“This is politics, and politics is all about perception, and with that being the case, I would not want to speak on the legality of it, because we don’t have all the evidence,” Claville said. “We can only speculate, and that’s what both sides are doing now.”

Claville noted that while Reid’s accusations may stir public outrage, proving criminal conduct would require far more than speculation.

“When you take a look at what has transpired, it is all speculation and hearsay. Therefore, in the legal court, that would have to be tried out and also go through the legal process in order to make a determination,” he said. “However, in the court of public opinion, which is different from a legal proceeding, it basically comes down to the rules of what is reality and what is not, as it relates to the audience, or the public at large.”

For now, Claville said, Reid appears to have the stronger public narrative.

“You have candidate Reid making a strong case on his end, and there really is not a strong rebuttal on the other end,” he said. “So at this point, that’s going to have to go through the legal proceedings and of course, the court of public opinion.”

Ultimately, Claville emphasized that the larger issue is mostly political.

“At the end of the day, the question is, what is the impact upon the ticket – and that impact is massive, and they’re going to have to determine if this is a viable path forward to be competitive in the upcoming election,” he said.

As of late Monday afternoon, Republican leadership remained notably silent. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — the party’s nominee for governor and the headliner of the statewide GOP ticket — has yet to weigh in on the controversy.

A spokeswoman for Earle-Sears’ campaign and a spokesman for Spirit of Virginia did not respond to multiple phone calls and text messages. Neither did Ken Nunnenkamp, the party’s executive director.

Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, the newly elected chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, declined to comment Monday. But at an event in Fairfax County earlier in the day, he vowed to support the entire GOP slate.

Adding to the signs of turmoil, an event scheduled for Wednesday at Atlas 42 in Henrico County featuring the statewide Republican ticket — with Youngkin billed as a special guest — has been canceled, according to a report by Virginia Scope.

Even as the controversy swirled, Reid was set to appear Monday evening at a rally hosted by the Loudoun County Republican Committee in Sterling. Loudoun GOP Chair Scott Pio told The Mercury that the event would go forward as planned and that Reid continued to have his support.

“The Republican Party has been removing staunch Republicans for the past three years from elected office all across the state because they’re unhappy with conservatism being pushed,” Pio said, voicing his frustration with efforts to boot Reid off the ticket.

In his video, Reid did not mince words about the pressure he said he faced.

“This is extortion and it is illegal in Virginia, and I am more outraged now,” he said of the proposal his campaign received from Youngkin’s PAC. Reid added that he has engaged legal counsel to “pursue all options” and slammed what he called the arrogance of party insiders trying to oust him after he became the legal nominee.

“The insiders in Virginia politics made a big miscalculation if they thought that I would bow down to anyone or run away scared,” he said. “I’m a conservative Trump supporter and I’m gay, and everybody knows it because I’ve told you in person and in the media for decades.”

The latest twist follows days of escalating conflict that first broke into public view Friday when The Richmonder reported that Youngkin had privately urged Reid to withdraw after a Tumblr account — bearing the same username Reid uses elsewhere — surfaced featuring sexually explicit content. A spokesperson for Youngkin’s PAC said the governor learned of the account late Thursday and called Reid the next morning.

“The governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content. Friday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the lieutenant governor nominee,” Spirit of Virginia said in a statement.

Reid denied the account was his, countering in an earlier video that “anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people,” and saying he had never publicly performed or posted pornographic material.

Reid said while he expected “harassment and vulgar attacks” from “radical” Republicans and “angry leftists,” he did not expect Youngkin, whom he had long supported, to call for his resignation “without even showing me the supposed evidence or offering me a chance to respond.”

“I did not accept that and I deeply resent it,” he said.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said the turmoil surrounding Reid’s candidacy highlights deeper challenges for Virginia Republicans heading into a critical election cycle.

“The biggest challenge that you have as a first-time statewide candidate is getting your name out there in the public,” Farnsworth said. “That’s not going to be a problem for John Reid.” But, he cautioned, the downside is significant: “This controversy won’t help Reid or the Republican ticket.”

Farnsworth noted the predicament reflects broader tensions within the GOP.

“It is a very difficult situation for Republicans to both keep the enthusiasm of evangelical Christian voters and reach out to an increasingly visible gay segment of the electorate in Virginia,” he said. While Republicans have long struggled with balancing those constituencies, Farnsworth said, “it is certainly a more intense one right now, particularly given the governor’s rebuffed efforts to avoid a bigger controversy.”

Ultimately, Farnsworth argued, the situation adds yet another complication to an already challenging election year for Virginia Republicans.

“The Republican party did not need another problem this year,” he said.

Reid’s unexpected ascent to the ticket came after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity dropped out for health reasons last week. Had Reid agreed to withdraw, the Republican Party of Virginia’s state central committee would have been tasked with picking a replacement, Peake previously confirmed.

The controversy also unfolds against the backdrop of a broader debate over LGBTQ rights, as the General Assembly advances a constitutional amendment to erase a now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage — an issue that has divided Republicans, with many in the House and Senate either voting no or abstaining.