Youngkin tells why he called gay GOP nominee over explicit photo claims

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin defended his call to Republican nominee for lieutenant governor John Reid, who said the governor’s advisors are pushing him to drop out of the race amid claims about sexually explicit photos. Youngkin said he called Reid, the first openly gay man to run on the Republican statewide ticket, because he believes concerns about lewd photos distract from key topics. “Explicit social media content like this is a distraction. It’s a distraction for campaigns, and it’s a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues,” he said Tuesday at an event on fentanyl awareness. Youngkin said it’s Reid’s decision to remain in the race or not. “The decision is John’s and up to John,” he said. In social media posts Friday and over the weekend, Reid accused Youngkin’s political advisors of extortion. He said religious activists threatened to release lewd photos they claimed he had posted on a Tumblr account. Reid said the photos are not his and the account was fabricated. Then, he said the governor asked him to step down, he refused and his aides were contacted again. “They were told if I dropped out of the race, they would purchase the opposition
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