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C Citizens all over America are suddenly interested in the order of succession of the Governor of Virginia.
It started with the statement of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam last Wednesday, indicating support for deciding whether a live born child would live or die after birth. This seems to have led to Friday's revelation of the 1984 Northam Yearbook in which he was then a medical student, where he appears to be in a Ku Klux Klan outfit or in a blackface.
Northam immediately apologized for the offense, but the next day (Saturday) came out and stated that he did not think he was in the offensive photo … but, by the way, he disguised himself once in black. anyway as part of a dance contest. (He said that he had won the contest by the way and that he had almost shown his moonwalk during the bail before his wife's intervention).
Needless to say, Northam's infanticide comments did not move Democrats at all, but once the racist picture was published, they (and the Republicans) called on the governor to resign. And not just in Virginia, Democracy 2020 candidates were running for Northam's resignation.
If the governor were to resign, the lieutenant governor – Justin Fairfax – would assume the office of governor for the duration of the governor's term. That's what people thought would happen … until Sunday.
On Sunday, allegations were made that Justin Fairfax reportedly sexually assaulted a woman at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Justin Fairfax immediately denied the charges but said the Washington Post was aware of the charges and refused to print an article because he found many inconsistencies and "red flags" in the accuser's account.
At a surprising speed, the Washington Post called Justin Fairfax a liar. The Post stated that she did not publish the story because she could not overcome the nature of the story "he / she says". This is far from the initial public denial of LG Fairfax.
From student first, then prosecutor, I spent years fighting sexual assault. In this context, it does not bother me to say that it strikes me that Fairfax's first reaction is to attack the accused who accuses him instead of offering facts that could corroborate his denial of the allegations. But in any case, if the situation can not be moved from the category "he / she said", how should it be done? Only time will tell.
If the lieutenant governor were elevated to governorship or if the lieutenant governor resigned – a real possibility now – the current acting president of the state senate "will assume the duties" of the Lieutenant Governor. Note that the acting president does not assume the duties of lieutenant governor. This is a subtle difference, but the position of lieutenant governor would remain open until the next state-wide elections in 2021.
The current president by Senate interim Virginia is Senator Steve Newman from the Lynchburg area. Newman is a Republican – a gentle-mannered curator who is enjoyed on both sides of the aisle.
It is interesting to note that he would not have to give up his seat in the Senate since he would assume the duties of lieutenant governor. This means that he would get his vote as a senator and that he would also vote to sever ties that might arise in the House.
It should be noted that the whole of the General Assembly is to be elected this year and that the Senate is currently composed of 21 to 19 people in favor of the Republicans. If the Democrats take control, they can elect their own interim Speaker of the Senate, who will then have his or her own vote in the Senate and also break the ties.
This brings us to the Sunday of this incredible week. Since then things have become even stranger.
Among those who asked the Northam government to resign, there was the third person in the estate behind the lieutenant governor, namely Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. On Saturday, Herring said: "It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth, and it is time that he resigns."
But after all this, after calling on Governor Northam to resign for his blackface / Klan photo – Herring today admitted to having worn Blackface himself when he was a young adult in college.
Suddenly, Democrats like Senator Mark Warner, who called for Northam's resignation, do not ask Herring to resign. Why? Because he is the last of the three Democrats in the order of succession at the governor's office. The next speaker would be the Republican Speaker of the House, Kirk Cox.
You may remember, in December 2017, that one of the Virginia House of Delegate races had an exact equality and was therefore determined by drawing her name from a bowl. The name was Republican, giving the GOP a meager majority of 51 to 49 years – the majority having elected Kirk Cox as president.
If, for whatever reason, Cox could not become governor, the last element of the Virginia succession is for the House of Delegates to elect a new governor.
Apart from what Northam decides to do, there is a very real possibility (now expected) that Herring must resign from his position as Attorney General. If he does so while the General Assembly is in session, they elect a replacement for the duration of the term. If the Attorney General resigns while the General Assembly is not in session, the designated Governor at that time shall designate a temporary replacement to serve until the next session of the General Assembly. General Assembly, following which the General Assembly will elect a replacement to fulfill this mandate.
The logical choice to fill the position is Republican Senator Mark Obenshain. Obenshain lost the race against Senator Mark Herring, then only a few hundred votes over 2 million votes. If the people of Virginia had been aware of the black-faced Herring antics, it would have cost them tens (hundreds?) Of thousands of votes, and Obenshain would have won anyway.
The year in which the entire General Assembly is ready to be elected, the two chambers being divided by two seats, this series of disasters for Democrats is truly unprecedented. And everything else is self-inflicted.
Ken Cuccinelli, Republican and Chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund, was the 46th Attorney General of Virginia from 2010 to 2014.
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