‘I never saw this coming’: Local experts weigh in on future of Va. LG race after Youngkin asks Reid to step down

After Virginia Gov Glenn Youngkin called on John Reid the Republican nominee for the state s lieutenant governor s race to step aside he vowed he would not back down The Richmonder first shared Youngkin s request which followed assertions that a social media account with the same name that Reid uses shared pornographic content Reid a radio host from the Richmond area became the de facto Republican nominee after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity ended his bid due to robustness concerns Related stories Virginia Democrats reap fundraising gains as they center campaigns around Elon Musk In WTOP unique candidates in Va governor s race sound off on federal cuts In Virginia primary referendum most of action is in lieutenant governor races WTOP spoke with two local experts on how the request and Reid s response could impact the future of the lieutenant governor race Brandon Jarvis reporter for The Virginia Scope stated WTOP that this was quite a turn of events when it comes to Virginia politics and expectations for the race I never saw this coming Jarvis explained I did see specific promising backlash coming for John Reid from the Republican Party because he is an openly gay man and there has been specific pushback but overall it seemed like the party was coalescing around him He s a popular conservative talk show host in the Richmond area and he holds very conservative views So it s it shocked me honestly Jarvis underscored his surprise at the new expansion saying he had not heard any rumors about this Mark Rozell who serves as the dean of George Mason University s Schar School of Strategy and Governing body noted it was an unexpected change in the race This shakes things up for sure and the fact that the incumbent governor himself is calling on the candidate to step down is extremely serious Rozell reported I cannot imagine that Glenn Youngkin would do that just based on a simple rumor Rozell explained if Reid isn t going to step down he demands to step up and clarify the situation He s entitled to have his say and present his evidence whatever that may be to set the record straight if indeed this is not accurate Rozell mentioned But what is really striking to me is that the governor himself stepped forward to call on the candidate to step down When it comes to what s next experts say it s kind of unclear If he does end up dropping out it will be up to the State Central Committee to put forth a new nominee Jarvis mentioned This is all fresh to everyone so everyone s kind of reeling and we re waiting to see what the leaders of the party say Jarvis added that it s too late to make any changes without him dropping out of the race It might not matter if John Reid doesn t step down they can t kick him off the ticket It s too late for any primary race for any candidate to file So at this point everyone s just waiting to see what John Reid does in his decision on this Rozell declared with Herrity stepping out late and the latest developments surrounding Reid s candidacy the Republican Party demands to be thinking about next measures This is real trouble for the Republicans that they don t have an alternative candidate right now Rozell revealed They don t have a competitive primary I just think it s a bit chaotic for the Republicans trying to figure out how they move forward from here Source