A top aide to Glenn Youngkin’s political operation has stepped down from his post leading the PAC, Spirit of Virginia, according to a person familiar with his departure and granted anonymity to describe internal matters.
Allegations Against GOP’s Lieutenant Governor Candidate
Matt Moran, a longtime Youngkin staffer, had become the center of a political firestorm in recent days after allegations emerged that John Reid, the presumptive GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, had maintained a social media account with pornographic images of naked men.
Reid, the first openly gay Republican nominee for statewide office in Virginia, has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexuality and has denied the account was his.
Political Fallout and Reactions
Youngkin reportedly asked Reid to drop out of the race, prompting outrage in the GOP, as grassroots Republicans rallied around the embattled candidate.
The controversy has fueled dysfunction in a state where the Republican Party was already facing an uphill battle in November and could tarnish Youngkin’s efforts to position himself as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
A longtime GOP operative and Trump loyalist, Reid held a rally on Wednesday night with a crowd of hundreds of loyalists where he condemned the “Richmond swamp” that “does not like it when they encounter a different type of person who they can’t control.”
