John Reid says Democrats’ ‘bad behavior’ will fuel GOP turnout in Virginia

A longtime conservative talk radio host in Richmond, Reid left his show to run for lieutenant governor, channeling his on-air bluntness into a campaign built on accessibility and plain talk.

It was midmorning in Charlottesville when Reid walked into First Free Coffee Bar, a small café filled with voters and volunteers, a marked contrast to the visit he made about seven months earlier.

Recalling the moment in his stump speech, he said with a grin, “I think there were 10 people here, and four of them were high school students who were studying. I told them, ‘Please don’t leave, it looks better for the cameras if you stay.’” This time, no such plea was necessary.

Reid’s campaign swung through Charlottesville on Wednesday, then Fredericksburg and Harrisonburg on Thursday, two of several stops in a packed week on the trail. Supporters filled a small airplane hangar at one rally and later gathered at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds, part of a nearly nonstop swing tied to Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’s (R-VA) gubernatorial campaign and occasionally joined by Attorney General Jason Miyares.

The Republican slate and their allies have crisscrossed the state in the final stretch, a rhythm of rallies, handshakes, and long drives that have already worn through two sets of tires. “We’ve put some miles on the car,” Reid said later. “It’s a big state.”

Reid faces Democratic state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, a longtime educator and progressive voice in the General Assembly who is seeking to become Virginia’s first Muslim lieutenant governor. The contest has been shaped as much by personality as policy, marked by unusual moments such as Reid’s mock debate against an AI-generated version of Hashmi after she declined to participate in a traditional one.

Sitting near the back of the bustling coffee shop, Reid reflected on what he sees as the stakes in this year’s off-year elections.

“Virginia is a unique state because it does have a diverse population that has different ideas about how to run things,” he said. “Northern Virginia clearly skews to the left. Southwest Virginia clearly skews to the right. So it’s a question of who’s motivated.”

Reid cited Democrats’ “hostility toward President Trump” and what he called a “Trump derangement syndrome component” that, he said, many conservatives now see as over the line. “Can the guy do anything right?” he asked. “He can solve a war, he can bring peace, and they still won’t give him credit.”

That frustration, he said, deepened after a pair of alarming moments in national politics. He pointed first to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which he says sent a shockwave through the conservative base, signaling that political discourse has crossed a dangerous line. Closer to home, he cited the recent publication of 2022 text messages from Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general who was then a state legislator, in which he suggested that then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert “should be shot” and said he and his wife were “breeding little fascists,” even suggesting harm to their children.

Reid called the remarks “disturbing” and emblematic of a toxic political culture.

“We’ve got to get away from hating each other so much that you would wish harm on someone else,” he said.

He spoke more quietly then, recalling how he has learned to temper his own emotions in politics.

“I’ve lived my whole life with people who have hated me because I’m gay, because I’m Republican, because I’m dating someone who is African American,” he said. “If you’re a leader, you have to control your emotions. You have to stay grounded.”

Reid’s frustration over what he sees as rising hostility in politics has carried into his criticism of Democrats’ surprise push to change Virginia’s redistricting rules in the middle of the cycle.

“It probably is unlawful,” he said. “The election has started. It was their choice to have a 45-day election period. I’m more concerned that anyone would be so arrogant and bold as to seize power this way.”

Reid said the fight has only sharpened Republican motivation heading into Election Day.

“Everybody’s on notice,” he said. “We’ve moved past disagreements to a place where even basic traditions and decency are at risk.”

Even as he spoke sharply about Democrats, Reid was careful to frame himself as someone capable of working across divides. With Virginia voters bracing for the possibility of split-ticket results across the statewide races, he said he would respect the will of voters even if Republicans do not win every contest.

“I voted straight Republican,” he said. “I’m a conservative Republican. I don’t try to hide that. But I respect the voters of Virginia. If they send a Democrat to the governor’s office, I’ll work with whoever is sent to the Capitol. I’m not going there to gum up the works. I’m going there to help solve problems.”

That emphasis on pragmatism is one Reid has clung to, even as his own campaign was rocked by controversy earlier this spring over allegations involving sexually explicit online content. He was forced to confront skepticism from within his party and prove his resilience after the scandal threatened to end his bid before it began. The episode also strained his relationship with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), creating an early test of how Reid handles adversity.

Some Virginia Republican leaders, including Youngkin, privately urged him to withdraw from the race following allegations that he was linked to a social media account featuring sexually explicit images of men.

Reid has denied any connection to the account and says the push to force him off the GOP ticket stemmed from bias over his sexual orientation as Virginia’s first openly gay statewide candidate. Rather than back down, he posted a five-minute video acknowledging that he is gay and had viewed pornography and had one-night stands in the past, a level of candor that startled many in his own party but ultimately rallied Republicans around him.

“I hope the tensions are over with,” Reid said of his relationship with Youngkin. “I hope I’ve proven that I’m the hardest worker in the party.”

He said Youngkin later hosted a fundraiser for him in Henrico County and offered words of encouragement, even as the episode lingered.

“It hurt my feelings when it happened,” Reid admitted. “But I can’t dwell on how I feel wronged. I have to put that aside and focus on doing good work going forward. That takes some mental discipline and some prayer.”

Reid has also found himself navigating differences within his own ticket. He and Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, diverge on social issues, including same-sex marriage and workplace protections for LGBT Virginians. When asked about Earle-Sears’s recent comments suggesting that opposition to same-sex marriage is not discrimination, Reid said they have discussed their disagreement respectfully.

“We don’t agree on the gay marriage issue,” he said. “But everybody’s not going to agree. I’m running to be lieutenant governor, not associate pastor. My job is to protect everyone’s rights, and that includes people of deep faith who don’t share my views.”

With less than a week until Election Day, the race for lieutenant governor is still a dead heat. A Roanoke College poll shows Hashmi leading Reid 42%-40%, a difference well within the survey’s margin of error. A separate Washington Post-Schar School poll found the contest virtually tied, with Hashmi’s 4-point advantage also within the margin of error, underscoring how divided Virginia voters remain.

Though the lieutenant governor’s job is mostly ceremonial, with duties that include breaking Senate ties, the race has taken on added symbolic weight in a state known for divided government.

EARLE-SEARS BLASTS DEMOCRATS OVER REDISTRICTING: ‘THEY’RE TRYING TO GET AT ME’

For Reid, the long drives and packed coffee shops are about something simpler.

“You’re never going to outwork me,” he said. “I’ll go wherever people are willing to listen.”