VA-LG: Youngkin aide defends against extortion claim by lieutenant governor nominee

RICHMOND — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top political aide said Wednesday that the campaign manager for GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid privately acknowledged he was aware of a social media account containing racy images that led Youngkin to urge Reid to leave the race — but which Reid has said he knew nothing about.

Youngkin political adviser Matthew Moran included the statement in an affidavit responding to Reid’s accusation that Moran’s actions amounted to extortion, the latest escalation in the unusual spat between the state’s leading Republican and one of his party’s major nominees in an election year.

“The campaign manager … commented that he might need help finding new clients” after discussing the account, Moran said in the affidavit sent to Reid by Moran’s lawyer. The affidavit did not say whether Moran and Reid’s campaign manager discussed who made the posts. Moran goes on to describe how he tried to communicate faithfully with Reid’s campaign as his initial enthusiasm for the candidate turned quickly to deep concern.

That meeting last Friday morning between Moran and Reid campaign manager Noah Jennings, who is not identified by name in the affidavit, followed a call from Youngkin to Reid in which the governor urged Reid to drop out of the race. Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC said the governor asked Reid to abandon his bid over “disturbing online content” on a Tumblr account, which reposted photos that ranged from explicit images of male genitalia to tamer pictures of men in skimpy bathing suits and underwear. The account shares the same handle as Reid’s other social media accounts. Reid, who is openly gay and does not appear in any of the photos that The Washington Post viewed on the now-deleted account, has said the account was not his and refused to step down.





https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/04/30/reid-youngkin-virginia-tumblr-moran/