Virginia lieutenant governor questions Biden after McAuliffe’s endorsement

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) on Sunday said he was hesitant to support former Vice President Joe Biden after the presidential candidate was endorsed by former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who Fairfax accused of helping spread “racist false allegations.”

“.@JoeBiden, I’ve considered voting for you, but @TerryMcAuliffe & his self-acclaimed political ‘son’ @LevarStoney orchestrated racist false allegations against the second Black LG of VA to try to stop my rise to Governor. Black people are tired of this routine. #Next400Years,” Fairfax tweeted from his personal account Sunday, a day after McAuliffe endorsed Biden for president.

.@JoeBiden, I’ve considered voting for you, but @TerryMcAuliffe & his self-acclaimed political “son” @LevarStoney orchestrated racist false allegations against the second Black LG of VA to try to stop my rise to Governor. Black people are tired of this routine. #Next400Years https://t.co/Eu3r1VjsU9

— Justin Fairfax (@FairfaxJustin) March 2, 2020

Levar Stoney is mayor of Richmond, Va. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Biden’s campaign.

McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who served as Virginia governor from 2014 to 2018, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fairfax has said he intends to seek the governor’s mansion in 2021, though McAuliffe reportedly said in May that he is seriously considering running for a second term as governor. Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) term ends in early 2022.

Governors in Virginia are prohibited from serving back-to-back terms.

Photos surfaced last year from Northam’s page in a medical school yearbook showing a man in blackface and another dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. He denied that he was either of the men pictured in the photo but said he once darkened his skin to dress up like Michael Jackson.

Shortly after the photos emerged of Northam, who faced immediate calls to resign, two women accused Fairfax of sexual misconduct. Fairfax has denied the allegations against him.

Fairfax later filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against CBS over the network’s interview with accusers. A judge dismissed Fairfax’s lawsuit last month.

Fairfax and Northam, as well as the state’s attorney general, who admitted to dressing in blackface as a teenager, have all rejected calls to resign.