Conservative radio host John Reid, the first openly gay Republican candidate to run for state office in Virginia, vowed to continue his bid for lieutenant governor amid allegations that he shared explicit images of naked men on Tumblr.
The scandal, first reported by the Richmonder, has sparked a public feud between Reid and current Gov. Glenn Youngkin, dividing the Republican party ahead of Virginia’s gubernatorial election in November. It centers on illicit pictures shared by an account with a username matching the one Reid uses on Instagram and his other social media accounts.
The radio host has repeatedly denied the profile belongs to him and suggested it was being used as a means to force him out of the race. It disappeared from the internet on Friday, shortly after The Richmonder published a story about images reposted on the Tumblr page between 2018 and 2020. They reportedly showed men in the nude — though none of them featured Reid himself.
“That’s not my account,” Reid said. “Anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people.”
Still, the article prompted Youngkin to call on Reid to step down as the lieutenant governor nominee, but he has repeatedly refused, and he continues to battle back efforts to knock him off the ticket. In a 5-minute video shared to X on Sunday, Reid said that after years of harassment, he was not surprised by the attacks, “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.”
He added: “I did not accept that, and I deeply resent it.”
Reid went on to accuse Youngkin’s political team of targeting him because he’s gay and telling his campaign that if he quit, the “lies and threats” against him would stop.
On Tuesday, he doubled down with another post on X.
“People thought I was bluffing- i was NOT! I will NOT be abused or blackmailed!! By ANYONE,” he wrote.
“I’m a very loyal Republican but I am also FAIR…. to everyone,” Reid continued. “I did everything right to be able to run for Lt. Governor and now I absolutely won’t be smeared and abused and extorted by enemies or supposed ‘friends.’”
Reid secured the Republican lieutenant governor nomination earlier this month, after Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race over health issues. It made him the lone candidate, landing him on the Republican ticket with current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for Governor, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, a first-generation Cuban American running for reelection.
Youngkin, a Republican and the current governor, is ineligible to run for re-election due to a state law prohibiting consecutive terms.
