Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s week spun from controversy to controversy, ending with his own party calling for his resignation.
After attracting the ire of Republicans over his comments on abortion, a photograph surfaced Friday from his medical school yearbook page, showing a man wearing blackface and another dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
The 59-year-old admitted he was one of the two people in the photo, but would not identify which one.
In a statement late Friday, the Democrat said he has no intention, at least for now, of stepping down.
“I’ve spent the last year as your governor, fighting for a Virginia that works better for all people. I’m committed to continuing that fight through the remainder of my term and living up to the expectations you set for me when you elected me to serve,” he said.
The pediatric neurologist won the Virginia gubernatorial race in November 2017 in a handy victory over Republican Ed Gillespie. A month before the election, Northam attacked Gillespie for his “racist rhetoric and fearmongering” in response the Republican’s campaign ads about undocumented immigrants.
Northam condemned hatred and bigotry in his victory speech.
By late Friday, Northam’s support in Virginia was slipping. The Virginia Senate Democrats, the Virginia House Democrats, and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus announced they were no longer confident in Northam’s ability to lead.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat under whom Northam served as lieutenant governor, said late Friday Northam should step down.
“His actions on display in this photo were racist, unacceptable and inexcusable at any age and any time,” McAuliffe said on Twitter.
The situation that he has put himself and the Commonwealth of Virginia in is untenable. It’s time for Ralph to step down, and for the Commonwealth to move forward.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) February 2, 2019
The erosion of his state support was mirrored by national leaders. A chorus of advocacy groups and 2020 Democratic presidential candidates also demanded Northam’s departure.
If Northam eventually resigns, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is black, would become governor.
Fairfax, 39, is only the second African
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American elected to statewide office in Virginia, a Southern state with a painful history of racism. In January, he handed off his duties presiding over the state Senate to a Republican while another lawmaker paid tribute to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Northam would be the first Virginia governor to not complete his term since the Civil War, according to Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Virginia governors can serve multiple terms, but not consecutively.
The Virginia legislature could also move to impeach Northam if he chooses not to resign. Whether state lawmakers could actually impeach him is unclear.
John Dinan, author of The Virginia State Constitution, told the Washington Post that Northam’s past actions may not meet the standards needed to impeach the governor.
“I would say that … we do not have a clear standard of what constitutes an impeachable offense,” he said, “and that the language of the Virginia impeachment provision is slightly different from the relevant language in the U.S. Constitution but is similar in providing little in the way of clear guidance for defining an impeachable offense.”
No governor has ever been removed from office in the state, A.E. Dick Howard, executive director of Virginia’s Commission on Constitutional Revision, told the Washington Post.
