Politico - Virginia GOP roiled by controversy over sexually explicit photos

The controversy has consumed the state’s Republican Party as it looks toward a tough November.

By Ben Jacobs, Andrew Howard and Liz Crampton

05/03/2025 04:00 PM EDT

The blast radius from the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Republican lieutenant governor candidate expanded this week, when a top political aide to Gov. Glenn Youngkin stepped down from his post. His departure was the latest event in a week of turmoil that has pitted Republican leaders in the state against the GOP’s grassroots, upending a party that was already confronting a difficult election year.

The conflict centers on the political future of lieutenant governor candidate John Reid, who resisted a week of pressure from some Virginia Republican Party leaders to step aside over allegations that he maintained a social media account with sexually explicit images of men. Reid, the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Virginia, denied that he was connected to the photos and has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexual orientation.

When Republican Party leaders in Virginia became aware of the photos, some tried to force Reid out of the race. Youngkin asked Reid to drop out last week, confirmed by POLITICO. But the attempts to oust him backfired. Matt Moran, who ran Youngkin’s political operation, stepped aside as he was accused of pressuring Reid to remove himself from the GOP ticket — something Moran has denied publicly.

Moran did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Youngkin pointed to comments from the governor Friday where he declined to say if he would campaign on behalf of Reid but said he will “support the nominees and their ticket. And at the end of the day, Republicans need to win. And that’s the bottom line.”

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