Jen Kiggans Faces Resignation Calls After Radio Interview
Democrats called for jen kiggans to resign after she agreed during a radio interview with a host’s remark that Hakeem Jeffries should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.” Kiggans later said she was not condoning the language and meant only that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia politics.
The exchange centers on a phrase the source describes as offensive because of U.S. slavery history. It also turned a local radio appearance into a broader fight over how Republican lawmakers respond when racial language enters public debate.
Richmond's Morning News
Conservative radio host Rich Herrera made the comment on “Richmond's Morning News,” telling Jeffries: “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. Run for office down here, you can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.” Kiggans replied, “That's right. Ditto, yes, yes to that,” during the interview.
Jeffries is the House of Representatives minority leader and the first Black American to lead a party in Congress. That made the reaction immediate for Democratic leaders who framed the exchange as more than a disagreement over Virginia politics.
Katherine Clark and Aaron Rouse
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark wrote on X: “Now they are using brazenly racist language to attack Black leaders.” Virginia state Senator Aaron Rouse said in a statement, “I am deeply appalled by anyone who promotes this rhetoric. We are no longer enslaved on plantations. We now hold positions of power our ancestors fought for.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom's office said every Republican should be denouncing the racist statement. The criticism broadened the dispute beyond Kiggans and Herrera, pushing it into a wider party response question.
Kiggans' May 11 response
Kiggans later said, “The radio host should not have used that language and I do not - and did not - condone it. It was obvious to anyone listening that I was agreeing Hakeem Jeffries should stay out of Virginia.” She also said she was agreeing with Herrera that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia politics.
The timing made the episode land inside a separate Virginia fight over congressional maps. Virginia voters approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map on April 21, and the Virginia state Supreme Court threw out the results on May 8. On May 11, Democrats were calling for Kiggans to resign as that broader redistricting battle continued to shape the state’s political calendar.
