Republican could lead Va. if 3 Dems fall to scandals
GOP House speaker is next in line for top post
It took Kirk Cox almost 30 years to rise from a freshman GOP member of the Virginia House of Delegates to the legislative body’s speaker.
He could jump to the governorship in a matter of weeks as the state’s top three officials, Democrats all, stagger under the weight of scandals.
First, Gov. Ralph Northam admitted wearing blackface in the 1980s. Then, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was accused of sexual assault, which he adamantly denies, stemming from a 2004 encounter. Finally, Attorney General Mark Herring admitted he, too, donned blackface in the 1980s.
“The last seven days have been tumultuous for our Commonwealth,” Cox said in a statement late Wednesday. “The revelations against and admissions by the leaders of the executive branch are disturbing.”
If all should fall, Cox would be next in line.
Larry Sabato, head of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says that, if Northam does exit, he would be the state’s first governor since the Civil War not to complete his term.
But Sabato doesn’t see all three Democrats walking away.
“Speculation that all 3 statewide VA Dem officeholders will resign is overwrought,” Sabato said on Twitter. “One or more will survive. VA Dems won in an anti-Trump landslide in 2017. They’re not going to turn government over to a pro-Trump GOP House Speaker.”
John McGlennon, professor of government at the College of William & Mary, agrees that Democrats will be unwilling to yield power to the GOP after winning an election mandate in 2017. That preference would more likely be overturned if the behavior took place while the three were in office, he said.
McGlennon told USA TODAY that the scandals involving Fairfax and Herring have improved Northam’s chances of political survival – but not much.
If the accusations against Fairfax are not corroborated and no other accusers come forward, the lieutenant governor is perhaps most likely to be serving as governor when the dust clears, McGlennon said. And he believes Fairfax’s race – African American – and the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court will play a role.
“You are a white man accused by multiple people of inappropriate sexual action and you get a Supreme Court post for life,” McGlennon said. “But if you are a black man and accused without corroboration of an incident that you deny, you are forced out of office?”
On Thursday, a Republican was drawn into the controversy. A 1968 Virginia Military Institute yearbook overseen by Tommy Norment features a host of racist photos, including blackface, the Virginian-Pilot reported.
Norment, now the state Senate majority leader, declined to comment to the newspaper but later released a statement through his spokesman that said:
“The use of blackface is abhorrent in our society and I emphatically condemn it. As one of seven working on a 359-page yearbook, I cannot endorse or associate myself with every photo, entry or word on each page. However, I am not in any of the photos referenced on pages 82 or 122, nor did I take any of the photos in question.
“As my comment on Page 236 notes, I supported the integration of VMI. And in 1997, I led the effort to have my alma mater include women for the first time.”
Virginia’s tumult began Friday with revelations that Northam’s 1984 medical-school yearbook page contained a photo of one person in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan robes. Northam quickly apologized – then the next day said he wasn’t in the photos. Northam did, however, admit donning blackface for a Michael Jackson dance party more than 30 years ago.
Northam’s jumbled explanations prompted calls for his resignation from leading Democrats and Republicans. However, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said Thursday that he remains convinced there are no grounds thus far to impeach Northam if he doesn’t go willingly.