Attorney General Jason Miyares commented for the first time on the controversy surrounding his running mate, Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid, in an exclusive interview with Virginia Scope on Tuesday.
Miyares had remained silent since Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Reid on April 25 and asked him to withdraw from the race. That request followed the discovery of a Tumblr account featuring nude photos of men that shared a username with Reid’s private Instagram account.
“Sure,” Miyares responded when asked if he plans to campaign with Reid on the trail as he seeks a second term in office.
“He’s the Republican nominee, and I endorsed the entire ticket back on April 22.”
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, weighed in last week with a brief statement: “It is [Reid’s] race, and his decision alone to move forward. We all have our own race to run.”
Youngkin said Friday, in what appeared to be a step back from his earlier position, that he will support the Republican ticket, stating, “Republicans need to win.”
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman, state Sen. Mark Peake, also offered context in a radio interview with WTOP on Tuesday about Youngkin’s initial call for Reid to step aside.
“I had no discussion whatsoever with the governor or his staff about that decision,” Peake said. “To my knowledge, no other Republican leaders were consulted about that.”
The GOP’s increasingly unified posture suggests party leaders are betting that cohesion — and control of statewide offices — will matter more to voters in November than the controversy surrounding Reid.