The article centers around Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's request for John Reid, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, to withdraw from the race. Reid is Virginia's first openly gay candidate for statewide office.
The controversy stems from explicit photos of men posted to a Tumblr account allegedly linked to Reid. Governor Youngkin's team linked the account to Reid via a similar username. The account has since been deleted, but archived versions show reposted images of male genitalia and suggestive material.
Reid vehemently denies the account's ownership, stating that it's a fabricated smear campaign targeting him due to his sexual orientation. He cites past instances of similar attacks and maintains his innocence, vowing to remain in the race. He points out that the photos don't depict him.
Youngkin's request for Reid to step down has created significant political tension. The situation remains unresolved, with the upcoming “unity rally” featuring Reid, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares uncertain. Reid has accused Youngkin of demanding his withdrawal without sufficient evidence and allowing him no chance for a response. He suggests he is facing unfair scrutiny due to his sexuality.
Reid, a well-known Richmond radio host and son of a former delegate, has previously addressed anonymous online allegations of sexually explicit photos, publicly sharing family photos with his partner in an attempt to preempt such attacks.
RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday asked John Reid, the Republican nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, to drop out of the race over nude photos of men posted to a social media account that the governor’s team says is linked to the candidate but Reid says was fabricated to smear him for being openly gay.
“The Governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,” Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC said in a written statement Friday. “Friday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the Governor asked him to step down as the Lt. Governor nominee.”
Youngkin made the request after being alerted to a Tumblr account that dates to at least 2020 and shares the same handle as Reid’s other social media accounts, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
The now-deleted account reposted pictures — none of which appeared to depict Reid — ranging from explicit photos of male genitalia to images typical of a racy underwear ad, according to posts that The Washington Post reviewed on the internet archive Wayback Machine. As recently as March 2024, the account reposted a photo of man facing a camera wearing only a baseball cap.
Reid, who is Virginia’s first openly gay candidate for statewide office, said the Tumblr account was not his and vowed to stay in the race. He secured the nomination Monday after his lone rival, Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out for health reasons.
“The Governor did call me today and said there were salacious pictures on the internet reposted by an account that uses my Instagram handle,” Reid said in a text to The Post. “I have now seen the supposed ‘evidence’ and it’s not my account, even though they’ve used a similar username to what I have on Instagram. As long as I have been in the public space, I have been a target for malicious and salacious lies. This is the second overt attempt to try to force me from the race.”
In a more than five-minute video posted to X on Friday afternoon, Reid suggested he was being subject to a “coordinated character assassination attempt” in part tied to his sexual orientation.
“I’ve been openly gay for 30-plus years. I have not broken the law. I’ve told the truth about who I am for 30 years, and I’ll do it again now,” he said, standing in front of portraits of Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee for governor.
Reid admitted to having seen pornographic material but denied having posted it online — and pushed back on Youngkin for telling him to step down without showing evidence of the “total fabricated internet lie” or offering Reid a chance to respond.
“I did not accept that, and I deeply resent it,” he said, before suggesting that he was being held to an unfair standard on a range of other questions — including his dating history — because of his sexual orientation.
“Am I really expected to answer every twisted, intrusive question about my previous relationships, every person I ever had sex with, every dating app I was ever on?” he asked. “Is anyone at the Richmond State Capitol or in D.C. planning on doing the same?
“What more can I possibly tell you? And why am I the candidate who has to answer these questions on this topic?” he continued. “Let’s be honest, it’s because I’m openly gay and I will not bow down to the establishment.”
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The Richmonder news site first reported that Youngkin asked Reid to step down.
Reid is scheduled to appear alongside Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) at a rally Wednesday in suburban Richmond to promote the newly cemented statewide ticket. Earle-Sears’s consultant David Abrams declined to say if what they’ve billed as a “unity rally” is still on.
A first-time candidate, Reid is a well-known figure in Richmond as a longtime talk-radio host and son of the late delegate Jack Reid, who represented Henrico County for 18 years. The radio host started his career as an intern for President Ronald Reagan’s post-White House office and later served as communications director for Sen. George Allen (R).
Reid had in recent weeks on X tried to preempt separate, anonymous allegations that there were sexually explicit photos of him online, instead sharing family-friendly images of him and his partner of eight years, Alonzo Mable, on vacation or at various political events.
In one April 17 post, Reid slammed “shady anonymous political people” for deciding “to ‘reveal’ personal pictures of me and Alonzo and pretend that they’re pornography.”
“After 20 plus years EVERY DAY on TV and radio and in public life I am the most transparent candidate to EVER run for office in Virginia,” he wrote, noting in that post that he had put tens of thousands of photos on social media and already rejected calls to drop out of the race.
“And note to the holier than thou jerks- stop being ridiculous or trying to bully me to quit,” Reid wrote then. “Not gonna happen.”
Armus reported from Washington. Razzan Nakhlawi in Washington contributed to this report.
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