HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Greeted by hundreds of supporters, John Reid took to the stage at Atlas 42 in Henrico vowing to remain the Republican party nominee for lieutenant governor five days after Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked him to step out of the race.
Youngkin's request came after he learned sexually explicit photos, which showed men in various states of undress were shared to a Tumblr account with the same username Reid uses on a different social media platform.
Reid was not in any of the photos and said the account is not his.
Speaking Tuesday, Youngkin called the incident a distraction.
"The decision is John's and up to John. But, that's why I called him and that's what I wanted him to understand is that at a time when we need to be speaking about really important topics it's a distraction and I don't think that it's the best way for us to get a message out to Virginians," Youngkin said.
Wednesday's rally was supposed to be the unveiling of the entire Republican statewide ticket, but that fell apart after Reid and Youngkin's conversation.
"I'd say this is a pretty big good distraction, wouldn't you?" Reid said when he took the stage.
Gubernational candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears threw out the first pitch at the Richmond Flying Squirrels Wednesday instead of attending the rally and mirrored Youngkin's concerns in a statement released Tuesday night, saying that the decision to stay in the race was up to Reid.
For his part, Reid says he's being targeted for being openly gay, drawing parallels to attacks on President Donald Trump.
"The Richmond swamp, now, does not like it when they encounter a different type of person who they can't control," Reid said during the rally.
Reid has pointed the finger at Matt Moran, the executive director of Youngkin's political action committee, over the allegations and sent him a cease and desist letter.
A few hours before the rally, Moran responded with his own letter and affidavit saying he was helping Reid's campaign and letting them know about opposition research and denied trying to threaten Reid, but instead give him advice.
Supporters of Reid, like Nancy Akers, expressed disappointment he was being subjected to this and had this to say to people opposed to his sexuality.
"I really like Governor Youngkin, but I think he made a mistake here. I really do," Akers told CBS 6 at the rally. "They're not listening to John the person. If you listen to John the person, his ideas and ]what he's doing, that's what matters. That's really what matters. It's not his lifestyle."
Akers says she wants Youngkin to back down and believes he will.
"I think this will all go away and I think we'll come together and I think we'll win in November," she said.
Reid closed his nearly 20 minute speech by asking the crowd to pray for Youngkin and the rest of the statewide ticket, adding he plans to vote for them when the time comes.
"It is time for us to come together as a party, because the real battle is coming in November and too much is at stake," he said.
Reid did not speak to the media after his event, but his campaign did give a statement in response to Moran's letter.
"Under Virginia law, a valid affidavit must include: 'I declare (or certify, verify or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.'," an advisor to the campaign said. "Moran’s fake 'affidavit' doesn’t include 'under penalty of perjury' language. Is that because he’s afraid of being prosecuted for perjury?"
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