More than a dozen House Democrats have called for Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans to resign, accusing her of endorsing a radio host's derogatory remarks about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Monday interview. The controversy erupted after Kiggans appeared on Richmond-based radio host Rich Herrera's show, though she denies any wrongdoing. Herrera was discussing Democrats' thwarted effort to redistrict.
The firestorm centers on one of the nation's most competitive battleground districts in Virginia, intensifying the stakes as Kiggans campaigns for reelection. Jeffries' top two lieutenants joined the calls for her resignation, with other Democrats vowing to unseat her in November regardless of the outcome.
Kiggans responded on X, stating, "The radio host should not have used that language and I do not -and did not - condone it." She added that her agreement was with the position that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia. House Speaker Mike Johnson defended her, telling reporters, "Sometimes people misspeak... you should not be evaluating the character of Jen Kiggans based on some comment that supposedly she said."
This controversy could reshape a race already drawing national attention and significant campaign spending. Political analysts suggest the incident risks alienating moderate voters in the district, though it remains unclear if the calls for resignation will gain broader party support or shift voter sentiment before November.
Counter_argument: Johnson suggests Kiggans may have simply misspoken, and she has explicitly rejected the radio host's language, arguing she only agreed that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia politics.