Over the last few days, a salacious story broke about a Democrat candidate for the Virginia State House.
Susanna Gibson has found herself in the middle of a nasty sex scandal.
Virginia Democrats now seem to be distancing themselves from the candidate, unwilling to vocalize their support for her.
The Scandal
Gibson and her husband were live-streaming themselves on a site called "Chaturbate."
Basically, people chat while masturbating on camera, but Gibson was apparently asking for "tips" if they did the requested acts, which is an apparent violation of the terms of service of the website. Gibson, 40, is a nurse practitioner and seemed like the Dems had the perfect candidate to battle for a very competitive seat…
So proud to stand with @SpanbergerVA07. From CIA to Congress, Rep. Spanberger has dedicated her entire life to serving others and knows our community well. I’m honored by the confidence Congresswoman Spanberger has in me and my campaign. pic.twitter.com/icq7CKdo99
— Susanna Gibson (@SusannaSGibson) August 7, 2023
Fantastic night supporting @SusannaSGibson with @ScVanValkenburg and @SenatorHashmi as we prepare for the start of early voting in Virginia THIS month!
These Virginians truly care about getting things done for their communities, protecting our rights, and growing our economy. pic.twitter.com/3R3FnF5Nfj
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerVA07) September 9, 2023
Of course, that all changed when this scandal broke.
Now, Democrats that were supporting her, most notably, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), are not answering inquiries if they will continue to support her candidacy.
If Gibson is out, this could be an absolute disaster for Democrats, as Governor Glenn Youngkin has been making a big push to lockdown these competitive seats.
Youngkin is facing down a Democrat-run legislature.
So, while his victory in the campaign was a huge win, he is still facing challenges to have a more conservative agenda passed in the state legislature.
Republicans currently control the House by a very small margin (50-46, four vacancies), and Democrats control the Senate (22-17, with one non-caucusing Republican).
Youngkin has been able to get some legislation passed, but not nearly what he had hoped when he ran for election.
Scandals such as this are horrifying for Democrats in terms of what it does for their hopes of controlling both chambers of the state legislature.
Since the scandal broke, Gibson has made her Instagram account private.
Spanberger and Warner have not responded to calls for confirmation of their support, and neither of them has made a public statement to support or pull back their support of Gibson.
