Youngkin, Va. Lt. Gov. Candidate at Odds Over Gay Porn Scandal

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin finds himself involved in a state GOP controversy after he requested that a conservative former radio host withdraw as the party's nominee for the state's lieutenant governor amid a sex scandal.

John Reid, who hosted a radio show in Richmond, Virginia, was asked to withdraw after GOP researchers found online sexually explicit posts allegedly connected to him, The Richmonder first reported.

Reid, who is openly gay, issued a statement to the outlet confirming Youngkin called him. The former radio host also denied the images are connected to him, and added he was refusing to back down.

"As long as I have been in the public space, I have been a target for malicious and salacious lies," Reid said. "This is the second overt attempt to try to force me from the race. I'll have more to say later today."

DailyMail.com reported Sunday that Matt Moran, who ran Youngkin's Spirit of Virginia PAC, resigned after he was accused of pressuring Reid to remove himself from the state's GOP ticket. Moran has denied the claims.

According to The Richmonder on April 25, some of the images in dispute on a Tumblr blog page, later taken down, were linked to a username that matched the name Reid uses on other social media accounts. The posts had timestamps indicating they were published between 2018 and 2020.

"A total fabricated internet lie so basic that a middle-schooler could have constructed it," Reid said in a short video. "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. I did not accept that, and I deeply resent it."

Youngkin defended his decision to ask Reid to step aside as the nominee.

"Explicit social media content like this is a distraction," the governor said last week, The Washington Post reported. "It's a distraction for campaigns, and it's a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues."

Reid has been on a GOP ticket that appeared set with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears running for governor, and Attorney General Jason Miyares seeking reelection.

Youngkin cannot run for reelection because Virginia governors can't serve two consecutive terms.

Earle-Sears refrained from calling on Reid to step aside.

"John Reid is the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor. It is his race and his decision alone to move forward," she posted on X. "We all have our own race to run."

The 45-day early voting window for the June 17 primaries began Friday.