Jen Kiggans, Virginia Republican, Faces Uproar Over Radio Host’s Racist Remark About Jeffries
A susceptible Republican congresswoman in Virginia set off an uproar from Democrats after she agreed with remarks by an area radio host who stated that Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House minority chief and a Black man, ought to preserve his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”
The dust-up surrounding the congresswoman, Representative Jen Kiggans, who’s dealing with one of many nation’s hardest re-election battles, is the most recent chapter in Virginia’s redistricting saga. Ms. Kiggans was talking with Rich Herrera, the host of a conservative morning discuss present in Richmond, to debate the fallout from the State Supreme Court’s ruling that invalidated a new congressional map that Virginia voters had permitted in an April referendum.
During their dialog, Mr. Herrera lamented a dialogue that Mr. Jeffries and Democratic members of the Virginia congressional delegation had on Saturday during which lawmakers mentioned the thought of having the entire Virginia Supreme Court replaced in a long-shot effort to revive the voter-approved map.
“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing — leave New York, move down here to Virginia, and run for office down here,” Mr. Herrera said. “If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”
Ms. Kiggans replied: “That’s right. I, ditto. Yes, yes to that.”
After a Democratic opposition analysis group, American Bridge, circulated a clip on social media of Ms. Kiggans’s response to Mr. Herrera’s remarks, Democrats denounced Ms. Kiggans, with some calling for her to step down from workplace.
Ms. Kiggans stated on social media Monday night that she had been agreeing with Mr. Herrera’s sentiment about Mr. Jeffries’s involvement within the Virginia redistricting battle, not along with his racist comment about Mr. Jeffries, the highest-ranking Black particular person in Congress.
“The radio host should not have used that language and I do not — and did not — condone it,” she stated. “It was obvious to anyone hearing that I was agreeing Hakeem Jeffries should stay out of Virginia.”
That didn’t suffice for Mr. Jeffries, whose workplace joined the Democratic outpouring of anger Tuesday morning.
“Jen Kiggans had her chance to disavow the vile, racist and dehumanizing comments from far-right talk show host Rich Herrera,” Christie Stephenson, an advocate for Mr. Jeffries, stated. “Instead, she doubled down,” she added, occurring to say that “the voters of Virginia will hold her accountable at the ballot box in November.”
Efforts to achieve Mr. Herrera on Tuesday morning weren’t instantly profitable.
Republicans brushed apart the Democratic anger about Ms. Kiggans’s radio look.
“Democrats’ performative outrage over this total nothingburger is completely selective and driven by politics, not principle,” stated Will Kiley, a spokesperson for House Republicans’ marketing campaign arm.
Ms. Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot, represents Virginia’s Second Congressional District, which is predicated in Virginia Beach, within the state’s southeast nook. She has served for 2 phrases and faces a troublesome re-election battle in opposition to former Representative Elaine Luria, whom Ms. Kiggans defeated to first win the seat in 2022. President Trump carried the district by lower than a proportion level in 2024.
Ms. Luria called Ms. Kiggans’s remarks “disgusting and beneath any elected official.” She added: “I grew up in the South. I know what these racist dog whistles mean.”
The section during which Mr. Herrera interviewed Ms. Kiggans on Monday has since been faraway from the radio show’s page on Apple Podcasts.