The Democratic Party of Virginia will troll Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and his Republican allies ahead of a rally on Tuesday.
The party is highlighting Youngkin’s previous call for Republican lieutenant gubernatorial nominee John Reid to suspend his campaign on a mobile billboard outside of Reid’s first event with the governor, gubernatorial nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R ) and Attorney General Jason (R).
The Hill was the first outlet to report on the billboard, which will travel through Northern Virginia throughout the day.
The billboard features pictures of Reid and Youngkin in the shape of a broken heart, with the caption quotes “step down” from Youngkin, as well as Reid telling Youngkin to “cease and desist from publishing lies.”
The event on Tuesday in Vienna, Va., marks the first time Youngkin, who is term-limited, and the Republican ticket will appear publicly with each other on the campaign trail ahead of November’s election.
Questions about Republican unity in the race were raised in April when Youngkin called for Reid to suspend his campaign after a report that Republican researchers came across sexually explicit photos on Tumblr posted by an account with the same username Reid uses on other sites. Reid has adamantly denied the allegations and went as far as to accuse Youngkin’s team of extortion. Reid, who is openly gay, has also said the reason he is being targeted is because of his sexuality.
“It’s a distraction for campaigns and it’s a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues. And here we are today talking about fentanyl and saving lives, and the distraction is present,” Youngkin said at a press conference. “That’s why I called him on Friday morning.”
“And the decision is John’s and up to John,” he said.
A lawyer representing Reid sent a cease and desist letter to the then-executive director of Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC Matt Moran, who later stepped down from his post.
Virginia Republicans were quick to come to Reid’s defense in the face of the controversy, calling Youngkin’s move “an unforced error” and laying blame on the Spirit of Virginia PAC.
Last month Youngkin acknowledged Reid as the party’s lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, telling reporters “he has clearly made up his mind that he’s going to stay in.”
Sears echoed Youngkin’s comments in her own statement.
“This week, focus on the lieutenant governor nominee distracted from that mission and cannot continue,” Earle-Sears said, referring to the mission “to unite and inspire Virginians of all backgrounds.”
“John Reid is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. It is his race, and his decision alone to move forward. We all have our own race to run.”