Hogan Says Embattled Virginia Gov. Northam Needs To Resign

ANNAPOLIS, MD — With Virginia's political establishment roiled by scandal after two racially charged blackface incidents and an accusation of sexual assault against a state leader, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has weighed in, saying Gov. Ralph Northam should resign as the Commonwealth's leader.

Northam is fighting to keep his job following apologies and then denials that he had once worn the racially demeaning blackface in his college days. The Democrat has so far ignored demands for his resignation in recent days, and seems hopeful that Saturday's passionate apology has bought him the time he needs to clear his name.

"It's completely unacceptable. I'm sure he's lost the confidence of the people of Virginia," Hogan told reporters at an event Wednesday, captured by WJZ TV.

When questioned by The Washington Post, Hogan said he has never impersonated an African American or used blackface, a device begun in the 1800s to demean, mock and stereotype people of color.

With President Donald Trump's popularity taking a hit from the chaotic partial government shutdown, GOP sources say that Hogan — the second-most popular governor in the United States — is newly open to the suggestion that he mount a primary challenge for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2020. Maryland voters of both parties continually give Hogan sky-high approval ratings of 70 percent or more, and the moderate Republican easily won re-election in November 2018.

Never a supporter of President Trump's candidacy or policies, Hogan went so far as to write in his late father on the presidential ballot rather than voting for the controversial Trump. After a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one woman dead and at least 19 people injured more than a year ago, Hogan condemned the gathering even as Trump said there were good people on both sides of the clashes.

SEE ALSO:

• Virginia Politics In Turmoil After Second Blackface Incident
• Justin Fairfax Accuser Refutes Consensual Sex Claim
• MD Gov. Hogan Open To 2020 GOP Presidential Bid: Report

The latest explosive incident to damage the Virginia government came to light Wednesday when Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, said he wore blackface at a college party in 1980. In this case, he was a 19-year-old college undergraduate attending a party where he dressed as a favorite rap music artist. He said in a statement that he was ashamed of and haunted by the one-time act.

"What I am feeling in no way compares to the betrayal, the shock and the deep pain that Virginians of color may be feeling," Herring wrote. "Where they have deserved to feel heard, respected, understood and honestly represented, I fear my actions may have contributed to them being forced to revisit and feel a historical pain that has never been allowed to become history."

Click here for Herring's full statement.

Adding to the political crisis, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax finds himself in a me-too moment that has complicated if not dashed his chances of succeeding Northam in the governor's mansion. A woman has said she was sexually assaulted by Fairfax in 2004, and Fairfax has vehemently denied the claim.

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Photo courtesy of Gov. Larry Hogan's office