The weekend that sent the Virginia Republican Party into a tailspin

In just 72 hours, the Republican Party of Virginia has gone from unity to open warfare.

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John Reid and Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The weekend that brought the Virginia Republican Party into a tailspin

In just 72 hours, the Republican Party of Virginia has gone from unity to open warfare.

John Reid, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor and the first openly gay candidate on a statewide ticket, is refusing to withdraw from the race, accusing party leaders of attempted extortion and threatening lawsuits. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, and Attorney General Jason Miyares have remained silent while Reid and Gov. Glenn Youngkin go to war.

The conflict, which began Friday, has fractured a party that has historically opposed gay rights and dominated media coverage in an election year with all three statewide seats and the full House of Delegates on the ballot.

The controversy erupted after The Richmonder first reported that Youngkin had called Reid, urging him to withdraw over a Tumblr account allegedly linked to him that featured posts of nude men.

Reid denies the account is his, but the username matched those he uses on Instagram and TikTok. The Tumblr account was deleted Friday, but Virginia Scope reviewed its content via the Wayback Machine.

“The Governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content Friday morning,” Youngkin’s political action committee said in a statement. “In a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the lieutenant governor nominee.”

Reid responded Friday night with a five-minute video, dismissing the allegations as “a total fabricated internet lie so basic that a middle schooler could have constructed it.”

“It’s predictable,” Reid said. “But what I didn’t expect was the governor I have always supported to call and demand my 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.”

By Saturday morning, Reid had made it clear he would not back down. He returned to the campaign trail, appearing at several events, including one with Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-VA09, who said he would “always support our nominee,” without mentioning Reid by name.

Later that afternoon, a source told Virginia Scope that a planned unity event with all statewide nominees, scheduled for Wednesday, had been canceled.

On Sunday, Reid escalated the fight, accusing Youngkin’s political team of extortion.

“Representatives of my campaign have been told by the leader of Gov. Youngkin’s political organization that the attacks on me will continue unless I drop out of the race for lieutenant governor,” Reid said. “They were told that if I dropped out of the race, they would purchase the opposition research and the lies and threats against me would suddenly stop. This is extortion and it is illegal in Virginia.”

The governor’s PAC, Spirit of Virginia, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Phil Kazmierczak, a member of Youngkin’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, resigned Sunday evening, citing the controversy.

“The recent actions taken at the highest levels of our state government have inflicted irreparable harm on the very community we serve,” he said in his resignation letter.

Casey Flores, a former advisory board member and founder of Log Cabin Republicans of Richmond, said Youngkin has historically been supportive of gay rights. But Flores believes Earle-Sears does not want a gay running mate.

“I just think that Winsome didn’t want to run with the gay guy,” Flores said. “Winsome is not a conservative. She’s kind of a theocratic totalitarian. She actually does care what people do in their bedrooms. And, you know, I think the Republican Party is largely past that.”

Even as Youngkin pushed for Reid’s removal, other Republicans remained silent in public.

Reid said he has received private support from Democrats and Republicans alike, but outside of Griffith’s remarks, public expressions of support from elected officials have been rare.

Earle-Sears, who arguably has the most to lose politically, has so far refused to speak to reporters.

“The only person who could stop the bleeding here is Winsome Earle-Sears,” said Richard Meagher, a political science professor at Randolph-Macon College. “If she openly breaks with Youngkin and stands behind Reid, it would help bring some unity back while demonstrating her leadership bona fides.”

Flores praised Youngkin’s record on balancing gay rights and religious liberties.

“He’s been extremely friendly to us over the years, and I think he’s really towed the line perfectly between protecting gay rights and protecting religious liberty,” Flores said. “He’s really threaded that needle quite well…. I can’t say I’m surprised. I’m very disappointed, but something like this happening is not surprising.”

The Republican Party often opposes gay rights. Earlier this year, 35 Republicans in the House of Delegates and 15 in the Senate voted against repealing the defunct same-sex marriage ban that remains in Virginia’s Constitution.

“This is absolutely about homophobia, or I would say more clearly about Reid’s status as a gay Republican,” Meagher said. “Conservative Christians are a big part of the Republican base, in Virginia as elsewhere, and Reid was always going to be a tough sell for them.”

With Reid digging in, Republicans face a crossroads where neither path looks like a win.

“I’d say they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” Meagher said. “Whether he stays or withdraws, this is dividing the party at probably the worst possible time. They were poised to unify the ticket while the Democrats are still caught up in their own primaries, and now instead, they’ve got their party leaders telling candidates to drop out.”

One Republican operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly, was blunt about the fallout.

“This is an utter disaster — there are no winners,” the operative said. “Now it’s a race to the bottom to see who can lose the least. The only winners here are Virginia Democrats, who were gifted another huge win in a game they weren’t even a part of.”

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Virginia Democrats launched three billboards along I-64 that they say are “highlighting Winsome Earle-Sears downplaying and defending the Trump Administration’s attacks on Virginia jobs.”

The billboards read “Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t care about 53,394 and counting unemployed Virginians.”

They also include Sears’ comments on the attacks on jobs from a closed-door event where she said “It happens all the time… And the media is making it out to be a huge, huge thing, and I don’t understand why.”

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