RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring wants Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign.
"It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth and it is time for him to step down," Herring said Saturday afternoon.
Herring, who late last year announced his intention to run for governor in 2021, said he has spoken to Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax about the unusual situation a Northam resignation would create.
"I have spoken with Lieutenant Governor Fairfax and assured him that, should he ascend to the governorship, he will have my complete support and commitment to ensuring his success and the success of our Commonwealth," Herring said.
Earlier Saturday Governor Northam said he would not resign and that he does not believe he is either person in the racist photo that appeared in his 1984 yearbook.
"I believe now and then that I am not either of the people in this photo," Northam said, denying that he had ever worn a KKK robe and hood or been drunk enough to forget a moment like this. "This was not me in that picture. That was not Ralph Northam."
Despite numerous calls for him to resign, Northam said he would try to win over those who want him out.
"I intend to continue doing the business of Virginia," he said, adding that resigning would be the easier way out.
After Northam finished speaking, Fairfax issued a direct statement that said he "cannot condone the actions from his past that, at the very least, suggest a comfort with Virginia's darker history of white supremacy, racial stereotyping and intimidation."
Fairfax, notably, did not call on the governor to resign.
