Democrats are doubling down on calls to oust Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican running to defend her vulnerable seat in Virginia this fall, after she seemed to agree with a conservative radio host\u2019s racist description of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n
Kiggans, who denies agreeing with the comment, on Monday appeared on Richmond\u2019s Morning News where host Rich Herrera, as part of a broader point about Jeffries, D-N.Y., staying out of Virginia politics, described the first Black American to lead a party in Congress as having \u201ccotton-picking hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cLeave New York, move down here to Virginia. Run for office down here \u2014 you can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kiggans replied: \u201cThat\u2019s right. Ditto. Yes to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kiggans said in a statement that she was not agreeing with the racist language but with the point that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia. \u201cThe radio host should not have used that language and I do not -and did not \u2013 condone it,\u201d she wrote<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of Tuesday morning, the interview was not available on Apple Podcasts and was not able to be streamed on Herrera\u2019s website<\/a>. A clip<\/a> of the interaction has been circulating on Democrat-affiliated social media accounts since Monday.<\/p>\n Virginia\u2019s 2nd District<\/a>, which encompasses the cities of Virginia Beach and Suffolk and relatively rural communities along the North Carolina border and Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore, is majority white with a roughly 23 percent Black population. Kiggans won her race in 2024 by about 4 points, and President Donald Trump carried the district by just 0.2 points.<\/p>\n Jeffries didn\u2019t buy Kiggans\u2019 explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJen Kiggans had her chance to disavow the vile, racist and dehumanizing comments from far-right talk show host Rich Herrera. Instead, she doubled down,\u201d Jeffries\u2019 spokesperson Christie Stephenson said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cIt was a stunning failure of judgment and leadership for a so-called moderate Member of Congress representing a large, vibrant African American community in Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson notably fell short of calling for her resignation, instead warning that voters will \u201chold her accountable\u201d in November. But other Democrats, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., aren\u2019t so patient.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst they gutted the Voting Rights Act. Now they are using brazenly racist language to attack Black leaders. [Kiggans] should immediately apologize and resign,\u201d Clark wrote<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cDid [Kiggans] hear what he said? Yes. Did she agree with him? Yes. Is this racist? Yes. Should she resign? Yes to that, too,\u201d the Congressional Black Caucus posted<\/a> Monday.<\/p>\n Kiggans\u2019 office did not respond to a request for further comment.<\/p>\n The episode comes after Democrats were dealt a disappointing blow<\/a> in Virginia last week, as the state Supreme Court invalidated a voter-passed ballot measure for a new congressional map that would have helped them target several Republican-held seats, including Kiggans\u2019.<\/p>\n If the past is any indication, Democrats\u2019 calls for resignation aren\u2019t likely to go anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrats earlier this year called for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to punish Reps. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., for a suite of anti-Muslim comments they posted online.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fine in February made a post<\/a> where he implied dogs were preferable over Muslims and doubled down on it. Ogles posted<\/a> in March: \u201cMuslims don\u2019t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie.\u201d Despite the calls, both lawmakers remain in Congress and have not faced any official consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democrats are doubling down on calls to oust Rep. 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