Va. Dems stand by calls for Northam to resign, withhold judgment on Herring

Two Virginia Democrats on Sunday stood by their calls for Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to resign over a blackface scandal, but stopped short of urging Attorney General Mark Herring (D) to step down over a similar controversy.

Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that they were not swayed by a new interview in which Northam argued he was in a position to heal the commonwealth and address the fallout from developments involving Virginia’s top three elected officials.

“I know he’s determined to go on this reconciliation tour but I think he should do that as a private citizen not as the governor,” Beyer said. “I know he wants to rehabilitate his reputation, and even his sense of what he called his moral compass, but he sacrificed so much of his ability to govern effectively.”

{mosads}Wexton offered a similar perspective, asserting that Northam has “lost the confidence of the people” to effectively govern and lead Virginia into the future.

Virginia @RepWexton says she has not changed her opinion that Gov. Northam “needs to resign.” She says, “I do not think he can effectively lead the Commonwealth at this time.” pic.twitter.com/gHDTRNPgad

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 10, 2019

Northam recently acknowledged he wore blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume, but denied he was in a yearbook photo showing individuals wearing blackface and a Ku Klux Klan robe.

Herring, meanwhile, admitted that he had put on blackface as part of a costume in college.

“They both made dumb mistakes as young men,” Beyer said on Sunday. The congressman added that he believes Herring has been “incredibly remorseful,” while Northam’s initial apology was “confusing” and “bizarre.”

Wexton said Herring has “a lot of work to do” to regain Virginians’ trust, but that she’s withholding judgment.

Both lawmakers have called for Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax (D), to step down amid sexual assault allegations.