Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., said the turmoil in the Virginia governor’s mansion is like “living a nightmare,” but refrained from calling on either the lieutenant governor or attorney general to step down in the wake of new accusations and a surprise admission.
McEachin, who is black, said he has not talked yet to state Attorney General Mark Herring about his admission today he wore blackface in college.
“I don’t know what to make of it because I haven’t seen his statement and I haven’t spoken to him yet,” McEachin told the Washington Examiner. “I want to hear from him.”
McEachin said Herring tried to reach him today but McEachin was busy in committee hearings.
Herring is second in line to take the place of Gov. Ralph Northam, who is also a Democrat and who has also admitted to wearing blackface in college.
McEachin and most other top Democrats have called for Northam to resign over his past actions.
Northam’s immediate successor, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is suddenly facing an accusation from a college professor who claims Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in a hotel room during the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston. On Wednesday, Vanessa Tyson released a harrowing description of the alleged assault, which Fairfax denies.
The political futures of all three men are uncertain.
Northam has refused so far to resign. If he ultimately leaves, and neither Fairfax or Herring takes his place, the next in line to move into the governor’s mansion is Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox, a Republican.
McEachin said the line of succession is unimportant and added, “We have to deal with the issue at hand, not who stands to gain or benefit from it.”
