 | This article needs to be updated. (June 2019) |
_(cropped).jpg)
Over the course of one week in February 2019, all three of Virginia's statewide elected executive officials (all members of the Democratic Party) became engulfed in scandal, and were consequently the subjects of nationwide bipartisan calls for resignation or removal from office.
The crisis began when a photo surfaced of Governor Ralph Northam's page in his 1984 medical school yearbook depicted an individual in blackface and an individual in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam had sparked a national outcry two days earlier over comments interpreted by conservatives and anti-abortion groups as supporting infanticide. Amid widespread calls for Northam's resignation, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax had multiple sexual assault allegations raised against him dating to 2000 and 2004. Attorney General Mark Herring revealed shortly thereafter that he had also worn blackface while in college.
The issues raised together created a crisis in Virginia as all three statewide officials were engulfed in scandal over the span of a few days and the potential of all three resigning or being forced out of office became apparent.[1] It also forced Democrats to grapple with racial and sexual assault scandals within their own party.[2][3]
Although the approval ratings of Northam and Herring largely recovered by the end of their terms in office, all three figures involved in the crisis were replaced with Republicans after the next elections in 2021. In the gubernatorial election, Northam was term-limited and Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, who defeated Fairfax in the Democratic primary. In the race for lieutenant governor, Democratic nominee Hala Ayala was defeated by Republican Winsome Sears. Herring, the Attorney General, was defeated in his bid for reelection by delegate Jason Miyares.
- ^ State of Crisis: Scandal in Virginia (CBS)
- ^ ‘It’s a mess’: Race and gender fault lines in Virginia cripple Democrats (Politico)
- ^ Vozzella, Laura (March 23, 2019). "Virginia Republicans see chance to bounce back amid Democratic scandals". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2019.