2019 Virginia political crisis

Over the course of one week in February 2019, all three of Virginia's statewide elected executive officials (all members of the Democratic Party) became engulfed in scandal, and were consequently the subjects of nationwide bipartisan calls for resignation or removal from office.

Amid widespread calls for Northam's resignation, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax had multiple sexual assault allegations raised against him dating to 2000 and 2004.

The issues raised together created a crisis in Virginia as all three statewide officials were engulfed in scandal over the span of a few days and the potential of all three resigning or being forced out of office became apparent.

[2][3] Although the approval ratings of Northam and Herring largely recovered by the end of their terms in office, all three figures involved in the crisis were replaced with Republicans after the next elections in 2021.

[20] According to The Washington Post, the photo was sent as a tip to Big League Politics by one or more medical school classmates who were concerned about Northam's abortion comments.

[22] The following day, Northam held a press conference in which he reversed his stance and denied that he appeared in the 1984 photo, but did admit to having "darkened [his] face" with shoe polish as part of a Michael Jackson costume around the same time.

A team hired by EVMS released a 55-page report on May 22, 2019, saying: “We could not conclusively determine the identity of either individual depicted in the photograph.” McGuireWoods contacted over 80 people connected to the school, including five members of their yearbook staff at the time.

[26] Fairfax was preparing for Northam to resign, even going so far as to notify family that as the next man in the line of succession he was about to replace Northam as governor,[27] when Big League Politics reported on February 3 that Fairfax had been accused by Vanessa C. Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College and fellow at Stanford University, of sexual assault at a hotel at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

[30] Fairfax also insinuated that supporters of Northam, or someone connected with Richmond mayor Levar Stoney, a potential political rival since both were speculated as possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2021, may have been behind the allegation going public.

[39] On February 6, Herring, who had already called on Northam to resign, issued a statement in which he admitted to wearing blackface himself as a 19-year-old University of Virginia student, saying he was trying to look like rapper Kurtis Blow at a party.

Nationally, figures such as Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Steyer, and Chuck Schumer all made statements admonishing Northam's actions and asking for an apology and a leave of his position.

[46] Some state politicians held off on calling for Herring's resignation, as they were concerned about the risk of losing Democratic control of the executive branch in Virginia.

[52] After the first full week in February, Northam and Herring were both adamant in their refusal to resign, while Democratic Delegate Patrick Hope indicated he was initiating impeachment proceedings against Fairfax.

The Speaker of the House – who at the time of the scandals was Kirk Cox, a Republican – was fourth in the line of succession and would have become governor if all three had resigned or had been removed.

[60][56] Then-Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, a Republican, was caught up in the scandal when it was reported that he was listed as managing editor of a 1968 Virginia Military Institute yearbook that featured racially charged language and photos of people in blackface.