Virginia GOP embraced a diverse ticket in this year's elections. Then things got complicated

RICHMOND, Va. — Republicans engaged in scrubbing the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion programs are fielding a historically diverse ticket in Virginia in one of the only states holding elections this year.

Those two things aren't inherently incompatible, and some experts say nominating diverse candidates could reinforce the argument that officeholders should be chosen on merit. But in the shadow of Washington, where President Donald Trump's push to stamp out DEI programs has caused turmoil at colleges, businesses and throughout the federal government, things have gotten complicated.

Conservative stalwart John Reid, a talk-radio host whose father was a Virginia delegate, is the first openly gay man to be a statewide nominee in Virginia. He was sailing toward the general election as the GOP's choice for lieutenant governor when Republican opposition research linked him to a blog featuring photographs of naked men, first reported by The Richmonder, an online news site.

In late April, days after the ticket solidified, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Reid and asked him to drop out after learning about the Tumblr account with a username matching the candidate's Instagram handle.

Reid said the account was a fabrication and made clear he was staying in the race. Days later, he accused Youngkin's team of extortion.

''I'm really angry to be betrayed by people I personally supported, and I'm really saddened for what is happening to our party right now,'' Reid said the following week.

Youngkin's effort to oust Reid backfired. Republicans rallied to the nominee's side, or at least offered tepid support.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Jamaican migrant and Marine veteran vying to be the state's first female governor, released a statement days after the news broke, saying it was ''his race, and his decision alone to move forward.''

Some Republicans were more forceful, creating merchandise saying ''In John Reid We Trust.'' Former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore told a group of reporters, ''I still endorse John, and I'm standing by my endorsement.''

Others were quick to back Youngkin. The conservative lobbying group Family Foundation Action wrote in a statement that voters want ''elected officials who represent their values.'' On Monday, a Virginia Republican who failed to qualify for the primary for lieutenant governor launched a write-in campaign for the position.

Former Republican Rep. Bob Good said Reid should drop out. The controversy comes five years after Good ousted former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, who lost his party's nomination for reelection in a conservative district after officiating a same-sex wedding.

''If we can't get over how other people live, I think the Republican Party is dead in Virginia,'' Riggleman said at the time.

Youngkin, widely viewed as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, backed off within a week, describing his conversation with the candidate as a distraction from the election ahead.

In the meantime, a get-together for the candidates with the tagline ''Ever Forward,'' which had been scheduled before Youngkin phoned Reid but suddenly was loaded with new meaning, had been canceled.

Reid rebooked the rally at the same time and place. But instead of celebrating the ticket, he celebrated his own candidacy as other top-of-the-ticket Republicans stayed away.

A precarious position

In a party that nominated a president who said at his inauguration that he would not allow the government to ''socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,'' experts say, Virginia's candidates were already in a precarious position.

''They're not really able to capitalize on it as an advantage, because it works against too much of what else the rhetoric is saying,'' said political analyst Geoff Kabaservice, vice president of political studies at the center-right Niskanen Center.

Still, GOP candidates have engaged in those conversations. Reid said in a statement when he launched his campaign that he was not a diversity hire. In a March Facebook post, he wrote: ''Diversity itself is not a strength. Common values and shared goals amongst diverse people is a strength.''

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, seeking reelection as the first Latino man and first-generation Cuban American to hold statewide office, has supported dismantling DEI programs.

And Earle-Sears connected DEI to slavery in a fundraising email first reported by Politico.

David Hopkins, a Boston College professor who studies voting behavior, said the strategy of distancing themselves from DEI, regardless of whether the idea is popular, made sense.

''There's a political logic that says if you're going to run against DEI programs and Democrats are saying: ‘Oh, you're just playing to racism. You're playing to prejudice,' that actually nominating diverse candidates ... can be an especially powerful way to handle the issue."

Polls have shown growing frustration with Trump's administration. Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has mostly focused on the wrong priorities as the right ones, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Another recent poll indicates that some disagree with his attacks on DEI, finding that people are more likely to support than oppose university services to help underrepresented students and courses that teach about racism.

The election was already going to be a challenge for Republicans in Virginia, which carries out statewide elections in the year following a presidential election. The commonwealth remains one of a dwindling number willing to elect leaders from both parties statewide. Its voters have often voted for a governor from the party opposite of the one in the Oval Office.

Ever forward — sort of ...

At the event formerly known as ''Ever Forward,'' now a Reid campaign rally, hundreds of supporters carrying John Reid posters bustled into Atlas 42, an event space in the suburban county outside Richmond that his father represented for decades.

''This is something they would do in the ‘50s or '60s,'' Republican Nancy Akers said as she lined up to hear Reid speak. ''I thought we were away from that by now. His private life is his private life.''

Carey Allen, a Republican from Chester, Virginia, also expressed frustration: ''Number one, I don't believe the account was his. Number two, I don't think it's relevant.''

Earle-Sears, across town, threw the first pitch at a minor league baseball game. Miyares did not attend, either. Gilmore was with Reid, working the crowd.

Still, as constituents crowded around Reid, the other candidates' absence did not seem to weigh on them. One woman walked up to Reid and gave him a bear hug. As they embraced, she said, ''I love you.''

Another man shook Reid's hand and murmured in his ear, ''This is really powerful.''

An older gentleman walked up to Reid and gently shook his hand, handing him an envelope. Reid thanked him before tucking the envelope into his inside pocket.

When Reid first took the stage, the crowd roared and chanted his name.

''I'd say that this is a pretty big, good distraction!'' he exclaimed.