Watch Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s full Republican National Convention speech
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered an address at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Virginia’s Republican nominee for lieutenant governor says he is facing a “coup” from members of his own party – including Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Conservative radio host John Reid said the governor called him April 25, urging him to exit the 2025 race, after GOP researchers found a now-deleted social media account sharing Reid’s name, containing sexually explicit photos of men.
Reid has denied any affiliation with the account.
And he says the push to oust him is due to him being openly gay.
“What happened today is another coordinated assassination attempt against me to force the first openly gay candidate off of a Virginia statewide ticket,” Reid said in a video posted online April 25. “It’s shameful, and I won’t back down.”
Local news site The Richmonder was first to report the news of Youngkin’s call to Reid.
Reid has dug in his heels, saying he is staying in the race and is prepared to fight back.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said in a video on April 27. “Except to get back on the campaign trail, win this election and take these people to court.”
Who is John Reid?
Reid, a Richmond-area talk radio host and former news anchor, announced his campaign for lieutenant governor in January, his first ever bid for any office.
In an interview with the Washington Blade, he said he came out publicly as a gay man in the late 1990’s.
After his only opponent in the GOP primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race due to health concerns following heart surgery in March, Reid became the official Republican nominee on April 21.
On X that day, Youngkin said he “spoke with John tonight and know he is ready to work with (other GOP nominees) to keep Virginia the best state for business, to back the blue, and to stand strong for parents.”
Reid is the first openly gay person from either party to be nominated for statewide office in Virginia. If he wins in November, he would be the state’s first openly gay lieutenant governor.
‘I’m not going anywhere’
Days after locking down the nomination, Reid received the call from the governor to leave the race.
Hours after getting off the phone, he stood between framed photos of Youngkin and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, speaking directly to the camera.
“I’ve been openly gay for 30 plus years. I’ve not broken the law. I’ve told the truth about who I am for years,” Reid said in a 5-minute video posted to social media April 25.
He added, “Am I really expected to answer every twisted intrusive question about my previous relationships, every person I ever had sex with, every dating app I was ever on? Must I share my gay Tinder profile?”
Since then, officials from Youngkin’s major fundraising PAC Spirit of Virginia have continued “attacks” on Reid, he said in another video posted to social media April 27.
And on April 28, Reid’s lawyer, Charlie Spies, sent Matthew Moran, executive director of Spirit of Virginia, a cease and desist letter.
“In a meeting on Sunday, April 27, 2025 you made clear that you only intend to stop sharing smears again Mr. Reid if he drops out of the race, and if he stays in the race, you intend to continue attacking and smearing him,” Spies wrote. “You literally said ‘him getting out of the race is the only way it stops.’”
A spokesperson for Spirit of Virginia did not return USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Moran’s counsel responded in a letter to Spies April 30, saying the allegations that he had defamed Reid were “utterly irresponsible” and “unfounded.”
“The facts, evidence, and witnesses would demonstrate that Mr. Moran never attempted to extort, coerce, or pressure Mr. Reid directly or indirectly,” attorney George Terwilliger III wrote, “but rather as a seasoned professional endeavored to provide sound advice regarding the viability of Mr. Reid’s candidacy to someone he counted as a friend.”
In closing his letter, Moran’s lawyer said he hoped to “de-escalate the situation” and asked Reid’s representation to “kindly let me know if you are amenable to scheduling a call where we might further discuss the matter.”
