Jonathan Martin, Trip Gabriel and Alan Blinder

“It was definitely not me,” Northam said at an afternoon news conference. “I can tell by looking at it.”

But within hours, three of the state’s most senior Democrats said they had called Northam to tell him to step down.

“We no longer believe he can effectively serve as the governor of Virginia and that he must resign,” Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Robert C. Scott said in a statement.

Addressing reporters, Northam said he had initially acknowledged that it was him in the photograph when it first surfaced Friday because he wanted to “take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.”

He said that after talking on the phone with friends and family in an effort to jog their memories about the photograph, he decided to reverse course, because he concluded that it was not him in the racist attire.

However, he revealed that on another occasion he had darkened his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume in a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was a young Army officer.

“I look back now and regret that I did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that,” he said.

The governor’s refusal to resign plunged Virginia into political turmoil. His own state party has abandoned him, its leaders furious that he had not resigned, according to one high-ranking Virginia Democrat. Top Democratic presidential contenders issued calls for Northam to step down, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The governor’s news conference did not appear to change many minds. By the time it concluded, Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus had reaffirmed its call for the governor to quit.

Later Saturday, L. Douglas Wilder, Virginia’s former governor and the first black elected governor in the United States, also urged Northam to step down.

If Northam does ultimately resign, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is black, would become the state’s governor.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/us/politics/ralph-northam-virginia-governor.html" id="a0d538b2-588b-3ed8-a5bb-8e0abbe62ee2">The New York Times</a>.

Virginia Governor Defies Pleas to Resign for Racist Photo

RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, defying pleas from his own party to resign, said Saturday that he would remain in office, and flatly denied that he had worn Ku Klux Klan robes or appeared in blackface in an image from his medical school yearbook that has upended his governorship and embarrassed his fellow Democrats.

But within hours, three of the state’s most senior Democrats said they had called Northam to tell him to step down, depriving the governor of his last remaining support and intensifying the pressure on him.

Addressing reporters in the governor’s mansion, Northam said he had initially acknowledged that it was him in the photograph when it first surfaced on Friday because he wanted to “take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.”

However, he may have made his effort to remain in office more difficult by revealing that on another occasion, he had darkened his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume in a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was a young Army officer.

The governor’s refusal to resign plunged Virginia into political turmoil and created a crisis for national Democrats, who have assailed President Donald Trump for his demagogy on racial issues and have made plain that they cannot abide a prominent party leader associated with emblems of bigotry.

By the time he strode to a lectern in the governor’s mansion Saturday afternoon, with portraits of Virginia’s founding fathers behind each shoulder, Northam was increasingly isolated.

His own state party has abandoned him, its leaders furious that he had not resigned as they expected he would when they went to bed late Friday, according to one high-ranking Virginia Democrat. Top Democratic presidential contenders issued calls for Northam to step down, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“It just made matters worse, because he owned it, and now he’s trying to walk it back,” said Charniele L. Herring, a Democratic state legislator from Alexandria.

Herring, who once headed the state Democratic Party and is African-American, spoke with Northam in the hours after the photograph surfaced and said he should have offered then the version of events he presented Saturday.

“If he had said, that is not me, I wouldn’t have last night joined my colleagues in calling for his resignation,” she said.

If Northam does ultimately resign, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is black, would become the state’s governor. Fairfax broke his silence after the governor’s news conference, but did not directly urge him to stay or go, saying in a statement that “we must make decisions in the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The governor said he had spoken with Fairfax, 39, several times since the yearbook photo first emerged. “I plan to continue to lead,” Northam said, before slightly opening the possibility that he could quit. “If we get to the point that we feel we are not effective, we are not efficient,” he said, he would “revisit this.”

That possibility grew far more likely shortly before 7 p.m. Eastern time, when Warner, Kaine and Scott, an African-American who is the dean of the state’s congressional delegation, issued their statement.

“Governor Northam has served the people of the Commonwealth faithfully for many years, but the events of the past 24 hours have inflicted immense pain and irrevocably broken the trust Virginians must have in their leaders,” said the three lawmakers, who initially resisted calling on the governor to quit. “He should step down and allow the Commonwealth to begin healing.”

Northam, standing next to his wife Pam at the news conference, spoke earnestly and was seemingly impervious to the wave of condemnation that the photograph had spawned. He appeared determine to maintain his innocence, and said he would use the controversy as something of a teachable moment in the state where slaves first arrived 400 years ago.

Speaking to reporters for more than 40 minutes as a handful of protesters gathered outside the state Capitol demanding that he resign, the 59-year-old governor said he wanted to have “an honest conversation about racial justice.”

He called the image of two men “offensive, racist and despicable.” But he said, “I cannot in good conscience choose the path that would be easier, for me to duck my responsibility to reconcile.”

Northam, who was elected in 2017, asked Virginians for forgiveness and said he understood that not all of the state’s citizens would believe him.

While he was insistent that it was not him in the image from the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook, he appeared less assertive about other questions regarding his history. Asked why he was referred to as “coonman” on his yearbook page at the Virginia Military Institute, Northam said that two cadets a year older than him had given him the nickname, but insisted that he did not know “their motives or intent.”

Further, his efforts to present himself as a healer were complicated by his discussions of the Michael Jackson-themed dance party and the matter of whether he could still perform Jackson’s “moonwalk” dance steps.

Northam was calm as he took questions, but was plainly bothered by the suggestion that he was bigoted or dishonest. A native of Virginia’s rural Eastern Shore, the governor noted that he went to integrated public schools in the 1970s, a time when many affluent white children fled to segregation academies, and he called himself “a man of honor,” invoking his leadership on VMI’s honor court.

“That is the most meaningful thing to me in my life,” Northam said. “I tell the truth. I’m telling the truth today.”

He said that he had a chance to sit down Friday night and look at the photo closely, and that classmates had told him there were photo mix-ups on other pages in the yearbook. He said he had not bought a copy of the yearbook and had never previously seen it.

But now that he has lost support from nearly all his allies in the state Capitol — both the House and Senate Democratic caucuses have urged him to quit — it is not clear how long Northam can last.

He will have a difficult time recruiting businesses to the state and could also face challenges raising campaign contributions, which is crucial given that all 140 seats of the state Legislature are on the ballot this fall and Democrats need to win only a handful of races to take control of both chambers.

Further, Northam is confronting a national party that will not ease up on him.

Democrats in the Trump era have adopted a sort of zero-tolerance approach in their ranks toward misconduct involving race and gender. With Republicans eager to level accusations of hypocrisy, Democratic leaders in Washington have sought to aggressively police the sort of misdeeds they have linked to Trump. They have pushed out lawmakers such as former Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota and former Rep. Ruben Kihuen of Nevada, both of whom were accused of sexual harassment.

With the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race getting underway, the pressure on Northam has been intense: The party’s White House hopefuls were some of the first officials to call on him to resign Friday night, beginning a cascade of demands that extended through the day Saturday.

Calls for Northam’s resignation also came from state Democrats like former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, both longtime allies of the governor. By the end of the day, Northam had few public allies left beyond his own staff and some longtime friends, like the Rev. Kelvin F. Jones, an African-American whose Baptist church Northam attends when he is on the Eastern Shore.

“We cannot destroy somebody’s life for a choice we perceive they made,” said Jones, who traveled to Richmond on Saturday to be with the governor and said he did not think it was Northam in the picture.

The Virginia Constitution allows the impeachments of governors for “offending against the Commonwealth by malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor.” If Northam chooses to remain in office and legislators ultimately seek his impeachment, the House of Delegates would be the first legislative chamber to consider the matter. The Senate would conduct any subsequent trial and determine whether Northam kept power.

The governor’s overnight political implosion began when the conservative website Big League Politics published a photograph from the yearbook Friday. The governor, in issuing his apology, admitted that he was in the photo but did not say which costume he had worn, and offered his “absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”

Patrick Howley, editor-in-chief of Big League Politics, a website founded by former employees of Breitbart News, said Saturday on the NPR program “All Things Considered” that a “citizen whistleblower” had sent the image of the yearbook page to the publication. Howley declined to say how he had verified that Northam was in fact in the photo, other than to say he “checked it out.”

A low-key pediatric neurologist who entered politics only when he was elected to the state Senate in 2007, Northam was able to push through Medicaid expansion last year with bipartisan support. And late last year, he announced one of the most significant economic development achievements in recent Virginia history when Amazon announced it was adding a new headquarters in Arlington.

Northam was at the center of a separate political firestorm even before the yearbook photograph surfaced Friday, when he became embroiled in a renewed debate over abortion rights. Republicans seized on comments he made in an interview about a proposal concerning late-term abortions, suggesting Northam had effectively come out for infanticide. The governor and his allies sharply disputed those assertions.

Trump weighed in on both matters with a Twitter message Saturday calling Northam’s reversal on the yearbook photo and his recent remarks about abortion “unforgivable.”

The yearbook photo controversy was the latest agony over race to befall Virginia, which continues to struggle to move beyond its history of slavery and its 20th-century embrace of segregation.

Outside the mansion, where statues commemorating segregationists and civil rights heroes alike stand near the Jefferson-designed capitol, some onlookers said they had come simply out of curiosity.

“What does that say about us?'’ said Michael Farrell, a Richmond physician who said he donated to Northam’s campaign. “It’s disturbing. It’s not that long ago.”

“It was definitely not me,” Northam, a Democrat, told reporters at a news conference in the governor’s mansion. “I can tell by looking at it.”

Pressed on why he initially apologized, Northam said he had wanted to “take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.”

The governor called the images, which first surfaced Friday afternoon, “offensive, racist and despicable.” But he said that “I cannot in good conscience choose the path that would be easier for me to duck the responsibility to reconcile.”

But he may have made his effort to remain in office more difficult by revealing that he had darkened his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume in a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was a young Army officer.

Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus did not wait for the news conference to end before issuing a statement reaffirming its call for the governor to quit. Noting that Northam had initially said Friday that he was in the photograph, the group of legislators, who are all Democrats, said: “The damage that has been done by these revelations is irreparable.”

Others soon followed with similar reactions. The Virginia Democratic Party said it stood by its call earlier Saturday for Northam to resign. And the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, also urged the governor to step aside.

Northam, 59, who was elected in 2017, asked Virginians for forgiveness and said he understood not all of the state’s citizens would believe him.

The governor’s refusal to resign plunged Virginia into political turmoil and created a crisis for national Democrats, who have assailed President Donald Trump for his demagoguery on racial issues and will not abide a prominent party member who is associated with emblems of bigotry.

Democrats in the Trump era have adopted a sort of zero-tolerance approach in their own ranks toward misconduct involving race and gender. With Republicans eager to level accusations of hypocrisy, Democratic leaders in Washington have sought to aggressively police the sort of misdeeds they have linked to Trump. They have pushed out lawmakers such as former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and former Rep. Ruben Kihuen of Nevada, both of whom were accused of sexual harassment.

With the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race getting underway, the pressure on Northam has been intense: The party’s White House hopefuls were some of the first officials to call on him to resign Friday night, beginning a cascade of demands that extended through Saturday morning when other potential Democratic candidates, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urged the governor to step down.

By the time he strode to a podium in the governor’s mansion, with portraits of Virginia’s founding fathers behind each shoulder, Northam was increasingly isolated. In phone calls Saturday morning, he said he had no recollection of the yearbook images.

In addition to calling state Democratic officials, Northam started calling former classmates at Eastern Virginia Medical School in an effort to determine more information about the picture — and to survive a crisis that is threatening his year-old governorship, according to a Democrat familiar with Northam’s calls. This Democrat said the governor was determined to prove it was not him in the photograph and was even considering using facial recognition software.

At his news conference Saturday, Northam said that he had had a chance to sit down Friday night and look at the photo closely. He said he had also consulted with his family and friends, including a classmate who said that there were photo mix-ups on other pages in the yearbook. He said Saturday that he had not bought the yearbook and had never seen it.

But most state leaders said privately that Northam’s initial acknowledgment that he was in the photo made it all but impossible for him to remain in office because he had lost support from nearly all his allies in the state Capitol.

Other calls for Northam’s resignation had come from former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, both longtime allies of the governor, who spoke with him by phone before issuing their statements.

The furor also resonated nationally with top party leaders. With African-American voters a crucial constituency for Democrats, many of the announced and likely 2020 presidential candidates called for Northam’s exit. On Friday, they included Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

By Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden, both weighing candidacies, had added their voices, as did Pelosi, who said the photo was “racist and contrary to fundamental American values.” She urged Northam on Saturday to “do the right thing” so Virginians could “heal and move forward.”

Northam’s overnight political implosion began when the conservative website Big League Politics published a photograph from his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page from 1984, showing two people, one in blackface and the other in white Ku Klux Klan robes. The governor, in issuing his apology, admitted that he was in the photo but did not say which costume he had worn and offered his “absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”

On Saturday, he firmly denied it was him in the photo.

Later Friday, another damaging report surfaced of an earlier yearbook that listed the nickname “Coonman,” a racial slur, for Northam as an undergraduate.

The yearbook picture, the uproar it created and the governor’s refusal to resign have thrown a state known for its collegial politics into turmoil less than two years after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

A low-key pediatric neurologist who entered politics only when he was elected to the state Senate in 2007, Northam had enjoyed high approval ratings thanks in part to the state’s booming economy and a handful of initial achievements.

After Democratic gains in the Virginia House, he was able to push through Medicaid expansion last year with bipartisan support. And late last year, he announced one of the most significant economic development achievements in recent Virginia history when Amazon announced it was adding a new headquarters in Arlington.

If he steps down, Northam would be the first Virginia governor to resign since at least the Civil War. Under the Virginia Constitution, Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, a Democrat and the second black person to be elected to statewide office in Virginia, would assume the governorship.

Northam was at the center of a separate political firestorm even before the yearbook photograph surfaced Friday.

On Wednesday, with Virginia embroiled in a renewed debate over abortion rights, Northam gave an interview to a Washington radio station and was asked about a proposal concerning late-term abortions. Northam said such abortions would be allowed in certain instances, such as cases of severe deformities or nonviable fetuses.

“The infant would be delivered; the infant would be kept comfortable; the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and family desired; and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” he said.

The backlash was swift, and some Republicans argued that Northam had effectively thrown his weight behind infanticide. The governor and his allies sharply disputed those assertions.

The yearbook photo controversy was the latest agony over race to befall Virginia, a state that 30 years ago made L. Douglas Wilder the United States’ first elected black governor, but continues to struggle to move beyond its history of slavery and a 20th-century embrace of segregation.

Fairfax stepped off the rostrum of the state Senate last month to protest lawmakers honoring Robert E. Lee. While running for governor, Northam learned his ancestors had been slave owners. “My family’s complicated story is similar to Virginia’s complex history,” he told The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

And in 2017, white supremacists carrying torches marched in Charlottesville, prompting Trump to say there were “fine people” on both sides.

The state’s increasing diversity, including an influx of suburban professionals into population centers outside Washington and Richmond, has moved Virginia from a conservative state to a reliably Democratic one in statewide elections: Republicans have not won a statewide election here this decade.

It was the only Southern state to choose Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. A Democratic wave in state elections the following year, a rebuke of Trump, delivered to the state Capitol the first Latina lawmakers and the first openly lesbian and transgender members.

Democrats weighing Northam’s fate are certainly mindful that they need to win two seats in each chamber of the Legislature in elections this year to gain majority control. At stake: control over redistricting congressional and legislative seats after the 2020 census.

The views of black officials and voters in particular are crucial: Northam won the 2017 primary thanks in large to part to his advantage with African-Americans, and he also enjoyed strong black support in the general election.

Governor Digs In, Refusing to Quit As Outcry Grows

RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, facing pressure from his own party to resign, said Saturday he would not quit and denied that he had appeared in Ku Klux Klan robes or in blackface in images from his medical school yearbook that have upended his governorship.

“I am not either of the people in that photo,” Northam, a Democrat, told reporters at a news conference in the governor’s mansion. “My first impression actually was, ‘This couldn’t be me.'”

Pressed on why he initially apologized anyway, Northam said he wanted to “take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.”

The governor called the images, which first surfaced Friday afternoon, “offensive, racist and despicable.” But he said: “I cannot in good conscience choose the path that would be easier for me to duck the responsibility to reconcile.”

But he may have made his effort to remain in office more difficult by revealing that he had darkened his face with shoe polish in the 1980s at a Michael Jackson-inspired dance party in Texas when he was a young Army officer.

Virginia’s legislative black caucus did not wait for the news conference to end before issuing a statement reaffirming their call the governor to quit. Noting that Northam initially said Friday that he was in the photograph, the group of legislators, who are all Democrats, said: “The damage that has been done by these revelations is irreparable.”

Northam asked Virginians for forgiveness and said he understood not all of the state’s citizens would believe him.

By Friday night, Northam was increasingly isolated, but in phone calls Saturday morning he said he had no recollection of the yearbook image of two men, one in blackface and the other in Ku Klux Klan robes.

In addition to calling state Democratic officials, Northam started calling former classmates at Eastern Virginia Medical School in an effort to determine more information about the picture — and to survive a crisis that is threatening his year-old governorship, according to a Democrat familiar with Northam’s calls.

This Democrat said the governor was determined to prove it was not him in the photograph and was even considering using facial recognition software. The governor, the Democrat said, had wanted to take responsibility Friday night, which was why he apologized for appearing in the picture without acknowledging which person he was in the image.

At his news conference Saturday, Northam said that he had a chance to sit down Friday night and look at the photo closely. He said he also consulted with his family and friends, including a classmate who said that there were photo mix-ups on other pages in the yearbook.

“It is definitely not me,” he said.

The governor told one senior Virginia Democrat on Saturday morning that he had not selected the photos for the yearbook and that, in conversations with medical school classmates, he had been told some of the pictures were mixed up across the pages. He said Saturday that he had not bought the yearbook and had never seen it.

But most state leaders said privately that Northam’s initial acknowledgment that he was in the photo made it all but impossible for him to remain in office because he had lost support from nearly all his allies in the state Capitol. On Friday, the state Legislative Black Caucus and both the House and Senate Democratic caucuses called on him to step down.

At first, the black caucus, a strong ally of Northam, who was elected in 2017, held off. But after an emotional meeting with the governor Friday evening, the caucus said in a statement, “It is clear he can no longer effectively serve as governor.”

The statement prompted others to call for his resignation. Among them were former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, both longtime allies of the governor, who spoke with him by phone before issuing their statements.

By Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden, both weighing candidacies, had added their voices, as did Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said the photo was “racist and contrary to fundamental American values.” She urged Northam on Saturday to “do the right thing” so Virginians could “heal and move forward.”

Northam’s overnight political implosion began when the conservative website Big League Politics published a photograph from his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page from 1984, showing two people, one in blackface and the other in white Ku Klux Klan robes. The governor, in issuing his apology, admitted that he was in the photo but did not say which costume he had worn, and offered his “absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”

The backlash was swift, and some Republicans argued that Northam had effectively thrown his weight behind infanticide. The governor and his allies sharply disputed those assertions, with Northam writing on Twitter that he had “devoted my life to caring for children and any insinuation otherwise is shameful and disgusting.”

The yearbook photo controversy was the latest agony over race to befall Virginia, a state that in modern times often seemed to have moved beyond its history of slavery and a 20th-century embrace of segregation, only to be painfully reminded that the past isn’t always past.

The views of black officials and voters in particular are key: Northam won the 2017 primary thanks in large to part to his advantage with African-Americans, and he also enjoyed strong black support in the general election.

RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, facing pressure from his own party to resign, said Saturday he would not quit and denied that he appeared in Ku Klux Klan robes or in blackface in images from his medical school yearbook that have upended his governorship.

Northam, who apologized Friday night, was increasingly isolated, but in phone calls Saturday morning he said he had no recollection of the yearbook image of two men, one in blackface and the other in Ku Klux Klan robes. Late Saturday morning, with the governor and his advisers gathered in the executive residence in Richmond, his office announced that he would provide a statement to the news media at 2:30 p.m.

In addition to calling state Democratic officials, Northam has been calling former classmates at Eastern Virginia Medical School in an effort to determine more information about the picture — and to survive a crisis that is threatening his year-old governorship, according to a Democrat familiar with Northam’s calls.

Rep. Robert C. Scott of Virginia, the senior member of the state’s congressional delegation and a long serving African-American Democrat, said in a telephone interview Saturday morning that he wanted to hear Northam’s statement, stopping short of calling on the governor to resign.

“The facts were fairly straightforward last night,” said Scott, who stopped just short on Friday of calling on the governor to resign. “So let’s see if there are any new facts.”

Scott was in touch Saturday with Virginia’s two senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who are also Democrats. And they also spoke to Northam on Saturday.

The governor told one senior Virginia Democrat on Saturday morning that he had not selected the photos for the yearbook and that, in conversations with medical school classmates, he had been told some of the pictures were mixed up across the pages.

By Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden, both weighing candidacies, had added their voices.

“There is no place for racism in America,” Biden tweeted. “Governor Northam has lost all moral authority and should resign immediately, Justin Fairfax is the leader Virginia needs now.”

Other official or potential Democratic candidates also called for Northam’s resignation, as did Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said the photo was “racist and contrary to fundamental American values.” She urged Northam on Saturday to “do the right thing” so Virginians could “heal and move forward.”

And in 2017, white supremacists carrying torches marched in Charlottesville, prompting President Donald Trump to say there were “fine people” on both sides.

“Virginia has a particularly sordid history with racism from the first enslaved Africans on our shores, to the capital of the Confederacy to massive resistance to the struggles African-American Virginians face today,” U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Va., said in a statement Friday.

“In light of that stain on our Commonwealth and the work that still needs to be done, I ask the governor to step aside,” McEachin, who represents Richmond, added. “While I acknowledge his efforts on behalf of all Virginians and the good he has done as a senator, as our lieutenant governor and now as governor, Virginians have too much to overcome and too much healing yet in front of us.”

Virginia's Governor Refuses to Quit as Outcry Grows Over Photo

Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, facing intense pressure to resign from fellow Democrats after admitting that he posed for a photo in a racist costume as a medical student more than 30 years ago, was calling state Democrats on Saturday to say he did not think it was him in the picture and that he would not resign.

<h1>“It was definitely not me,” Northam said at an afternoon news conference. “I can tell by looking at it.”</h1>

“We no longer believe he can effectively serve as the governor of Virginia and that he must resign,” Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Robert Scott said in a statement.

Addressing reporters in the governor’s mansion, Northam said he had initially acknowledged that it was him in the photograph when it surfaced Friday because he wanted to “take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name on it.”

However, he may have made his effort to remain in office more difficult by revealing that, on another occasion, he had darkened his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume in a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was a young Army officer.

“It just made matters worse, because he owned it, and now he’s trying to walk it back,” said Charniele Herring, a Democratic state legislator from Alexandria.

If Northam does ultimately resign, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is black, would become governor. Fairfax broke his silence after the governor’s news conference but did not directly urge him to stay or go, saying in a statement that “we must make decisions in the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The governor said he had spoken with Fairfax, 39, several times since the yearbook photo emerged. “I plan to continue to lead,” Northam said, before slightly opening the possibility that he could quit. “If we get to the point that we feel we are not effective, we are not efficient,” he said, he would “revisit this.”

Northam, standing next to his wife Pam at the news conference, spoke earnestly and was seemingly impervious to the wave of condemnation that the photograph had spawned. He appeared determine to maintain his innocence and said he would use the controversy as something of a teachable moment in the state where slaves first arrived 400 years ago.

While he was insistent that it was not him in the image from the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook, he appeared less assertive about other questions regarding his history. Asked why he was referred to as “coonman” on his yearbook page at the Virginia Military Institute, Northam said that two cadets a year older than him had given him the nickname but insisted that he did not know “their motives or intent.”

Calls for Northam’s resignation also came from state Democrats like former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, both longtime allies of the governor. By the end of the day, Northam had few public allies left beyond his own staff and some longtime friends, like the Rev. Kelvin Jones, an African-American whose Baptist church Northam attends when he is on the Eastern Shore.

The Virginia Constitution allows the impeachments of governors for “offending against the Commonwealth by malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor.” If Northam chooses to remain in office and legislators seek his impeachment, the House of Delegates would be the first legislative chamber to consider the matter. The Senate would conduct any subsequent trial and determine whether Northam kept power.

The governor’s overnight political implosion began when the conservative website Big League Politics published a photograph from the yearbook Friday. The governor, in issuing his apology, admitted that he was in the photo but did not say which costume he had worn and offered his “absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”

Outside the mansion, where statues commemorating segregationists and civil rights heroes alike stand near the Jefferson-designed Capitol, some onlookers said they had come simply out of curiosity.

“What does that say about us?” said Michael Farrell, a Richmond physician who said he donated to Northam’s campaign. “It’s disturbing. It’s not that long ago.”

RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, defying pleas from his own party to resign, said Saturday that he would remain in office and flatly denied that he had worn Ku Klux Klan robes or appeared in blackface in an image from his medical school yearbook that has upended his governorship and embarrassed his fellow Democrats.

Virginia governor defies pleas to resign for racist photo

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Jonathan Martin, Trip Gabriel and Alan Blinder

Articles written by the author

Virginia Governor Defies Pleas to Resign for Racist Photo

Virginia Governor Defies Pleas to Resign for Racist Photo

Governor Digs In, Refusing to Quit As Outcry Grows

Governor Digs In, Refusing to Quit As Outcry Grows

Virginia's Governor Refuses to Quit as Outcry Grows Over Photo

Virginia governor defies pleas to resign for racist photo