RICHMOND, Va. — Republican John Reid said Friday he will continue his campaign to be Virginia’s lieutenant governor and denied he had anything to do with a social media account containing sexually explicit photos that had prompted GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin to call for him to quit the race.
Reid, the first openly gay man to run statewide in Virginia and a supporter of Youngkin, posted a video response to the governor's attempt to stymie his candidacy after the governor learned of the photos on a Tumblr account with a username matching the candidate’s Instagram handle. Reid said the account was a fabrication that comes as he grapples with increasing pressure to exit the race by members of his party.
“It’s predictable, 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,” said Reid, a conservative talk-radio host. “I did not accept that, and I deeply resent it.”
The political theater comes a week before the May 2 start of early voting in Virginia’s primaries and only days after Reid's only Republican opponent dropped out.
The Tumblr account, which was first reported by The Richmonder, was active Friday morning but was deleted by that afternoon. The webpage had reposted photos of naked men, according to The Richmonder.
“The Governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,” according to a statement released by a political group affiliated with Youngkin. “Friday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the Lt. Governor nominee.”
In a video statement, Reid said he did not own the account. He also said his worst fear had been that someone would manufacture lies about him because of his sexuality.