Jen Kiggans Did Not Apologize For Agreeing With The Radio Host’s Racist Remarks About Jeffries And Denied Any Wrongdoing

Kiggans Did Not Apologize For Agreeing With The Host’s Remarks, Saying Democrats Were Using The Controversy To Distract From Their Loss In Court

Kiggans Did Not Apologize For Agreeing With The Host’s Remarks, Saying Democrats Were Using The Controversy To Distract From Their Loss In Court. “The Virginia redistricting reversal thrust GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans back into one of the nation's most hotly contested House races — and it got even hotter Monday. Multiple Democrats accused Kiggans of condoning racism after concurring when a Richmond radio host said Jeffries should get his ‘cotton-picking hands’ off Virginia politics. ‘Ditto, yes, yes to that,’ Kiggans responded. No. 2 Democratic leader Katherine Clark called it ‘brazenly racist language’ and said Kiggans should resign, and No. 3 leader Pete Aguilar said she should ‘apologize then get the hell out of the House.’ Kiggans did not apologize, suggesting Democrats were only trying to distract from their loss in the state’s court. She said, however, the host ‘should not have used that language and I do not -and did not - condone it.’ Watch for Jeffries to respond directly today — and watch the House floor for a potential attempt to reprimand or censure Kiggans.” [Politico, 5/12/26]

• Politico: “She Said, However, The Host ‘Should Not Have Used That Language And I Do Not -And Did Not - Condone It.’” “The Virginia redistricting reversal thrust GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans back into one of the nation's most hotly contested House races — and it got even hotter Monday. Multiple Democrats accused Kiggans of condoning racism after concurring when a Richmond radio host said Jeffries should get his ‘cotton-picking hands’ off Virginia politics. ‘Ditto, yes, yes to that,’ Kiggans responded. No. 2 Democratic leader

Katherine Clark called it ‘brazenly racist language’ and said Kiggans should resign, and No. 3 leader Pete Aguilar said she should ‘apologize then get the hell out of the House.’ Kiggans did not apologize, suggesting Democrats were only trying to distract from their loss in the state’s court. She said, however, the host ‘should not have used that language and I do not -and did not - condone it.’ Watch for Jeffries to respond directly today — and watch the House floor for a potential attempt to reprimand or censure Kiggans.” [Politico, 5/12/26]

Kiggans Denied Any Wrongdoing In Agreeing With The Radio Host’s Remark About Jeffries

Kiggans Denied Any Wrongdoing After Saying “That’s Right. Ditto. Yes. Yes To That” In Response To A Radio Host Saying Hakeem Jeffries Should Keep His “Cotton-Picking Hands” Out Of Virginia.” “Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) faces a growing call from Democrats to resign over what they say is her agreement with a radio host's derogatory comments about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Why it matters: The firestorm comes as Kiggans, who has denied any wrongdoing, is running for reelection in one of the most hotly contested battleground districts in the country. More than a dozen House Democrats — including Jeffries' top two lieutenants — had called for Kiggans to resign as of this afternoon, with others vowing to unseat her in November either way. Kiggans said in a post on X: ‘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 Jefferies [sic] should stay out of Virginia.’ ‼️ House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters: ‘Sometimes people misspeak. ... I'll talk to her about it, but you should not be evaluating the character of Jen Kiggans based on some comment that supposedly she said.’ The controversy centers on an interview Kiggans gave to Richmond-based radio host Brandon Herrera on Democrats' thwarted effort to redistrict Virginia's congressional map in their favor. Said Herrera: ‘If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he ... 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.’ ‘That's right. Ditto. Yes. Yes, to that,’ Kiggans replied.” [Axios, 5/12/26]

Kiggans Claimed She Was Agreeing That Hakeem Jeffries Should Stay Out Of Virginia, And Not With The Host’s Racist Remarks, Saying “This Is Precisely What’s Wrong With Democrats”

Kiggans Responded Defensively To Her Agreement With The Racist Comments, Saying “This Is Precisely What’s Wrong With Democrats… The Radio Host Should Not Have Used That Language And I Do Not - And Did Not- Condone It.” “This is precisely what's wrong with Democrats. Every lie and distortion is intended to distract from getting their hats handed to them and the Virginia Supreme Court's clear message: stop trying to rig our elections. 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 Jefferies should stay out of Virginia. Democrats are trying to destroy Virginia’s court because they disagree with it. THAT is the real danger to our country.” [Jen Kiggans, Twitter, 5/11/26]

Image: see original report, p. 42

[Jen Kiggans, Twitter, 5/11/26]

• Kiggans: “It Was Obvious To Anyone Listening That I Was Agreeing Hakeem Jefferies Should Stay Out Of Virginia.” “This is precisely what's wrong with Democrats. Every lie and distortion is intended to distract from getting their hats handed to them and the Virginia Supreme Court's clear message: stop trying to rig our elections. 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 Jefferies should stay out of Virginia. Democrats are trying to destroy Virginia’s court because they disagree with it. THAT is the real danger to our country.” [Jen Kiggans, Twitter, 5/11/26]

Later In The Day, A Journalist Asked Kiggans Whether She Wished She Had Confronted The Radio Host In The Moment For Using The Racist Language, And Kiggans Stuttered, Said Yes, But Qualified Her Answer

Later In The Day, A Journalist Asked Kiggans Whether She Wished She Had Confronted The Radio Host In The Moment For Using The Racist Language, And Kiggans Stuttered, Said Yes, But Qualified Her Answer. KIGGANS: “Well, the host was talking about Hakeem Jeffries spending tens of million dollars and meddling in Virginia politics, and that’s the sentiment that I am agreeing to that Hakeem Jeffries should not be spending his time and effort meddling in Virginia politics. Of course, he should not have used the language that he used, that was not the sentiment that I was agreeing to, the sentiment that I was agreeing to was that Hakeem Jeffries should not be meddling in Virginia politics and that host should not be using that language.” HOST: “Do you wish you had, you know, made a comment about not using that language at the time?” KIGGANS: [stutters] “Uh- uh, yes, uh- yes, again I would say that he should not have used that language but I was agreeing to the sentiment which, if you go back and listen to the entire show, he had been talking about Hakeem Jeffreis and the tens of millions of dollars he spent and the call with the legislators, you know, over the weekend, and that he should not be meddling in Virginia politics and that’s what I was agreeing to, and I was not at all agreeing to the language, and, and, uh, he should not have been using that language.” [Brendan Ponton, Twitter, 5/11/26] (AUDIO)

Kiggans Declined To Comment And Quickly Walked Away When Asked By A Reporter About Her Agreement With The Radio Host’s Racist Comment About Hakeem Jeffries

Kiggans Declined To Comment And Quickly Walked Away When Asked By A Reporter About Her Agreement With The Radio Host’s Racist Comment About Hakeem Jeffries. “Representative Jen Kiggans won’t explain why she agreed with racist comments about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Virginia Republican was completely mum Tuesday as MeidasTouch asked several point-blank questions related to her recent endorsement of a radio host saying Jeffries had ‘cotton-picking hands.’ ‘Representative, do you have anything more to say after agreeing with racist comments made by a radio host?’ asked the reporter. Silence. In another exchange, the MeidasTouch reporter asked if Kiggans would resign for agreeing with those comments, and the Republican briskly walked away. Kiggans has faced immense blowback since she appeared on Richmond-based radio commentator Rich Herrera’s show Monday to discuss the state’s hotly contested congressional maps. The since-deleted interview flew off the rails when Kiggans emphatically concurred with Herrera after he referred to Jeffries as a slave.” [New Republic, 5/13/26]