John Reid’s pitch for civility follows years as a ‘combative conservative’

The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor calls his opponent a radical and has sought to use her heritage against her.

When Republican nominee for lieutenant governor John Reid and Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger crossed paths on the first day of early voting in Henrico County this month, the stage was set for some rare political theater. 

Reid, a conservative radio host and political underdog who GOP leaders tried to force off the ticket earlier this year, watched as Spanberger took questions from the press. Then—uninvited—he joined her in the spotlight. 

“I’d like to demonstrate that we can still be friends,” Reid told a bemused-looking Spanberger. “You live in Henrico. I live in Henrico. I’m glad to see you, always.” 

The moment, captured in video by Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope, garnered praise given its timing after the shocking killing of Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s death spurred bipartisan calls to lower the temperature of America’s politics amid an increase in political violence. 

Seeing two relatively high-profile political opponents smiling and shaking hands amidst a high-stakes election seemed to some a strong step in the right direction. 

“Spanberger and Reid practicing the actual political civility that many in both parties have called for, but few have shown,” posted Anthony Adragna, a Politico congressional reporter. 

‘Ugly partisan hostility’

Building on the breakout moment with Spanberger, Reid has positioned himself as a candidate well-positioned to bring bipartisanship and mutual respect back to America’s polarized politics.  

“We must defeat the the ugly partisan hostility that is all about scoring political points while never solving problems or bringing people together,” Reid posted to X on Saturday. 

But Reid himself has yet to account for his own role in stoking the same partisan hostility he is now condemning. For years, Reid has trafficked in far-right rhetoric on issues of race, education, and the news of the day as a radio host, political commentator, and now statewide candidate.

On the fifth anniversary of the killing of George Floyd in May, Reid criticized people for defending Floyd and seemed to suggest that Floyd somehow deserved what happened to him. 

“When you’re a criminal don’t be surprised when bad things happen to you,” Reid said. “Don’t be a criminal.” 

Reid has also long been a critic of public schools and supporter of charter schools. His criticisms of state education policy have included the use of insults. 

In a 2022 post, Reid criticized parents and teachers over their concerns about masking during the pandemic. In the same post, he floated the idea of letting charter schools replace public schools “so sad weak little rabbit children can all huddle in fear” of Covid-19 in schools of their own. In the post, Reid said teachers were either pretending to worry about the spread of Covid from unmasked students or were “stupid.” 

Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said as a radio host Reid was a “combative conservative” and a “vigorous cultural warrior.” Farnsworth added that it’s not unusual for candidates to moderate their rhetoric to appeal to a broader electorate after a primary battle.

“Talk radio is an appealing environment for conservative messaging,” Farnsworth said in an interview. “But running for office in purple Virginia may require a narrative that is less focused on the hardcore conservatives who make up much of the talk radio audience.”

Fanning the flames

In making his case to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor, Reid has sought to stoke fear about his opponent, State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond), who is Muslim and was born in India. 

During a July segment on the John Fredericks Show, Reid shared his pitch to voters who did not support him in the Republican primary for the party’s lieutenant governor nomination. 

The choice for these voters, and, as Reid put it, “especially folks who are Christians,” is between a “responsible, gay, white Republican,” and a “radical leftist with an affinity for Hamas and Palestine.” Hashmi has called for peace in the Middle East and does not support political violence. 

In the same month Reid wondered on X whether voters would choose, “A freedom fighter named John Reid or a government control radical named Ghazala?” 

Reid has also joined in with other Virginia Republicans in attempting to tie Hashmi to New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani. 

Reid called Mamdani a “radical Muslim” and Hashmi’s “alter ego.” If successful, Hashmi would be the first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia. In a Sept. 24 campaign email, Reid referred to Mamdani simply as a socialist, without calling him radical or mentioning his religion.

Reid has also said Hashmi “behaves like a street urchin who’s screaming and yelling.”

Asked about Reid’s comments, Hashmi said in an emailed statement that as a long-time educator and mother, she is focused on improving education funding, protecting health care access, and lowering costs for working families. 

“John Reid spews lies because he wants to distract Virginians from his true agenda: he wants to shut down our public schools, supports a cruel bill that would rip health care from more than 300,000 people, and lies about the clinics that have already closed because of Medicaid cuts,” Hashmi said. “Virginians deserve better.”

Earlier this month, Augusta Medical Group blamed President Donald Trump’s huge tax and spending bill for its decision to close three rural clinics in Virginia. The closing of the clinics was seen by some as a sign of things to come due to Trump’s massive cuts to the social safety net, but Republicans, including Reid, have downplayed the risks of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” 

More than 300,000 Virginians are expected to lose their health care because of Trump’s cuts to Medicaid funding. 

With a little over a month to go until election day in Virginia, it’s likely that many Virginia voters are more focused on the higher-profile race for governor. Whether Reid’s comments— either from when he was on the radio or on the campaign trail—resonate with voters for better or for worse remains to be seen. 

“There are an awful lot of Virginians who are going to be voting who may not have long memories about what politicians have said before they were running for office,” Farnsworth said. “It is easier than political insiders might think for candidates to recreate themselves as circumstances require.”

Reid’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment for this story.