Latest news with #WRVA
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Virginia GOP lieutenant governor candidate launches a Substack
Republican Virginia lieutenant governor candidate John Reid launched a Substack on Tuesday in an effort to engage directly with supporters. The Hill was the first outlet to report on the Republican's Substack, which is called The Reid Revolution and will publish on a weekly basis. Reid is one of the first Republican candidates to launch a Substack. The launch comes as other politicians, including a number of potential presidential candidates, have explored new forms of media like podcasts to reach voters. In his first post on the platform, which went up early Tuesday morning, Reid noted that his Substack is not a campaign newsletter. 'It's a direct line from me to you that is unfiltered by media spin, untethered from political talking points, and free from the gatekeepers who've told candidates like me to stay in our lane, water it down, or wait our turn,' Reid wrote. 'I'm not interested in playing by their rules.' In a second post obtained by The Hill, which is slated to be published on Reid's Substack later on Tuesday, Reid compares his policies to his opponent state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger. 'Ghazala Hashmi and Abigail Spanberger support a vision where the government always knows best. I don't. I trust families,' Reid writes. 'This campaign isn't just about childcare or safety or schools. It's about freedom. It's about who makes the decisions: you, or them.' The Republican candidate previously hosted a talk show on WRVA for eight years. Reid found himself in the center of a political firestorm in April after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R ) called for Reid, who is openly gay, to suspend his campaign after a report that Republican researchers came across sexually explicit photos on Tumblr posted by an account with the same username Reid uses on other sites. Reid has adamantly denied the allegations and went as far as to accuse Youngkin's team of extortion. Reid, who is openly gay, has also said the reason he is being targeted is because of his sexuality. A lawyer representing Reid sent a cease and desist letter to Matt Moran, then the executive director of Youngkin's Spirit of Virginia PAC, who later stepped down from his post. Virginia Republicans were quick to come to Reid's defense in the face of the controversy, calling Youngkin's move 'an unforced error' and laying blame on the Spirit of Virginia PAC. Last month, Youngkin acknowledged Reid as the party's lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, telling reporters, 'He has clearly made up his mind that he's going to stay in.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Virginia GOP lieutenant governor candidate launches a Substack
Republican Virginia lieutenant governor candidate John Reid launched a Substack on Tuesday in an effort to engage directly with supporters. The Hill was the first outlet to report on the Republican's Substack, which is called The Reid Revolution and will publish on a weekly basis. Reid is one of the first Republican candidates to launch a Substack. The launch comes as other politicians, including a number of potential presidential candidates, have explored new forms of media like podcasts to reach voters. In his first post on the platform, which went up early Tuesday morning, Reid noted that his Substack is not a campaign newsletter. 'It's a direct line from me to you that is unfiltered by media spin, untethered from political talking points, and free from the gatekeepers who've told candidates like me to stay in our lane, water it down, or wait our turn,' Reid wrote. 'I'm not interested in playing by their rules.' In a second post obtained by The Hill, which is slated to be published on Reid's Substack later on Tuesday, Reid compares his policies to his opponent state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger. 'Ghazala Hashmi and Abigail Spanberger support a vision where the government always knows best. I don't. I trust families,' Reid writes. 'This campaign isn't just about childcare or safety or schools. It's about freedom. It's about who makes the decisions: you, or them.' The Republican candidate previously hosted a talk show on WRVA for eight years. Reid found himself in the center of a political firestorm in April after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R ) called for Reid, who is openly gay, to suspend his campaign after a report that Republican researchers came across sexually explicit photos on Tumblr posted by an account with the same username Reid uses on other sites. Reid has adamantly denied the allegations and went as far as to accuse Youngkin's team of extortion. Reid, who is openly gay, has also said the reason he is being targeted is because of his sexuality. A lawyer representing Reid sent a cease and desist letter to Matt Moran, then the executive director of Youngkin's Spirit of Virginia PAC, who later stepped down from his post. Virginia Republicans were quick to come to Reid's defense in the face of the controversy, calling Youngkin's move 'an unforced error' and laying blame on the Spirit of Virginia PAC. Last month, Youngkin acknowledged Reid as the party's lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, telling reporters, 'He has clearly made up his mind that he's going to stay in.'
Washington Post
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Richmond talk-show host John Reid joins race for Va. lieutenant governor
RICHMOND — Conservative talk-radio host John Reid announced Monday that he was leaving WRVA in Richmond to seek the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor — a campaign that could make him Virginia's first openly gay statewide official. Reid, who once served as communications chief for Virginia governor George Allen (R), noted the historic nature of his bid while expressing hope that his sexual orientation will be irrelevant to voters. 'I'm not a diversity hire,' he said in a news release. 'I'm the most conservative and proven candidate running, and I've boldly stood up for our beliefs in a way that should make my personal life a total non-issue.' Reid joins a large field of Republicans and Democrats seeking Virginia's lieutenant governorship, a part-time job that pays $36,321 a year and comes with just two constitutionally mandated duties: presiding over the state Senate and assuming the Executive Mansion if the governor resigns or dies. The post is highly sought after as a launching pad for the governorship. Two other Republicans are seeking their party's nomination, Navy veteran John Curran and Pat Herrity, the lone GOP member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Five Democrats are doing the same: state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi (Chesterfield); Babur B. Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board; state Sen. Aaron R. Rouse (Virginia Beach); former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado; and former Richmond mayor Levar M. Stoney. The field could grow. State GOP Chairman Rich Anderson has been exploring a potential run. Former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman has been considering an independent bid for lieutenant governor or governor. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is not seeking reelection, running instead to succeed term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Earle-Sears faces one declared Democratic candidate, former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. Reid, 54, is the son of the late delegate Jack Reid, who represented Henrico County for 18 years. The radio host started his career as an intern for President Ronald Reagan's post-White House office. Reid casts himself as a conservative in the mold of Reagan, Allen, his father, and Youngkin, who has not endorsed in the primary. 'I really think that we're teetering on becoming California and Glenn Youngkin, and Winsome Sears and [Attorney General] Jason Miyares have successfully held that back for four years,' he said in an interview with The Washington Post on Saturday. Miyares is seeking reelection to his post. Reid describes himself as someone who is 'pro-life' but also recognizes the need 'to find compromise' on the issue in a state where abortion rights have broad support. He supports the state's business-friendly right-to-work laws, which prohibit requiring someone to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. He opposes automatically restoring voting rights to felons after they complete their sentences. Reid could face a challenge appealing to socially conservative Republicans who have long opposed gay rights. Riggleman, as a freshman congressman from rural central Virginia, lost a GOP nominating convention in 2020 after officiating a same-sex wedding. In 2021, a Republican running for lieutenant governor was targeted for supporting gay rights. Only a few Republicans in the General Assembly voted this year to support an effort to enshrine same-sex marriage rights in the state constitution. Reid opposes the marriage amendment because it does not contain language saying religious organizations and clergy may refuse to officiate such unions. (Democrats say that language is not needed because churches and clergy already have that right under state law.) Reid said he would rather have the state simply repeal an amendment, adopted in 2006, that bans same-sex marriage. The ban is defunct but could become operative again if the Supreme Court reverses its 2015 ruling legalizing those unions nationwide. Reid, who has worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and with various veterans groups, lays out a conservative list of priorities on his campaign website: promoting learning over 'indoctrination' in K-12 schools, funding public safety, prosecuting 'rioters and looters,' enforcing immigration laws, defending religious liberty, reducing taxes and regulations, and opposing 'divisive wokeness.' Beside a photo of a George Washington equestrian statue outside the state Capitol, he vows to 'advocate for conserving our cultural landmarks.' While the site makes Reid's sexual orientation clear — referring to his longtime partner, Alonzo — it also stresses that he does not support trans rights. 'John is uniquely positioned to take the fight to the radical progressives head-on as he continues his fight against boys in girls sports and the extreme trans-agenda being forced upon our children,' it says. 'I think the gay rights movement has jumped the shark with the trans issue,' he told The Post. 'If you insist that something is factually true which is not factually true, I must draw the line there, even as a gay man.'
