Republican U.S. Representative Jen Kiggans faced calls from Democrats on May 11 to resign after she appeared to agree with a conservative radio host who used racist language about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Virginia interview.
On Richmond's Morning News, host Rich Herrera said Jeffries should get his "cotton-picking hands off of Virginia." Kiggans replied, "That's right. Ditto, yes, yes to that."
Kiggans later said she was agreeing that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia politics, not the host's wording. "The radio host should not have used that language and I do not - and did not - condone it," she said. "It was obvious to anyone listening that I was agreeing Hakeem Jeffries should stay out of Virginia."
The backlash was swift. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark said on X that the Republican lawmaker should resign, saying Republicans were now using "brazenly racist language to attack Black leaders." Gavin Newsom's office said every Republican should be denouncing the statement. Virginia state Senator Aaron Rouse said he was "deeply appalled" by anyone who promotes that rhetoric and added that Black Americans are no longer enslaved on plantations.
The outcry landed in the middle of a broader fight over Virginia's 2nd Congressional District and the state's new congressional map. Virginia voters approved the Democratic-drawn map in a special election on April 21, but the Virginia state Supreme Court threw out those results on May 8. On Monday, Virginia Democrats asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the map, which was designed to boost Democrats' chances in November's midterm elections.
The phrase Herrera used is offensive because of the country's history of slavery, when cotton was picked by enslaved people. The clash also comes as Republicans hold only slim majorities in the House and Senate, making every seat and every public fight over race and power more politically charged. For Kiggans, the question is no longer whether the comment can be separated from the message; it is whether her explanation can contain the damage from agreeing on air with a line that crossed a boundary many of her critics say should never have been tested.
