The Virginia Republican Party was thrown into turmoil Friday after news broke that Gov. Glenn Youngkin had asked GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid to withdraw from the race after an old social media account attributed to Reid showed pictures of naked men.
The Republican ticket — finalized without primary contests — had been set to launch its joint campaign tour across the commonwealth. Those plans appear to be changing, however.
One event, scheduled for Wednesday at Atlas 42 in Henrico County with the statewide Republican ticket — and Youngkin listed as the special guest — has been canceled, according to a source familiar with the situation.
A Tumblr account was discovered during a vulnerability assessment commissioned by Republican groups after Reid became the nominee, a source told Virginia Scope. The account, which used the same handle Reid employs on other platforms, featured explicit photographs. The photographs were reposts, and not pictures of Reid himself.
“The Governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,” a spokesperson for Spirit of Virginia said Friday night. “Friday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the Lt. Governor nominee.”
Reid, the first openly gay man on a statewide ticket, denies that the account was his and does not appear to have any plans to withdraw from the race.
After releasing a five minute video Friday night pushing back against Youngkin, he posted on social media Saturday that he is hitting the road to continue campaigning.
“Waiting for the next crazy personal attack but…..I’m moving on…to meet and listen to voters and to talk about how to make Virginia successful for ALL of us in the coming years,” Reid posted. “Lots of stops on the trail today!”
Reid was recently named the nominee after his primary opponent, Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race due to health issues.
The campaigns for both Earle-Sears and Miyares did not respond to requests for comment.
Reid did not respond to an interview request from Virginia Scope Saturday.
This will continue to be a developing situation. Stay tuned.