In the days after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo on his medical school yearbook in 2019, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax looked poised to ascend to the post and become the state’s second Black governor.
That never happened. Soon after, Fairfax dealt with his own scandal when two women came forward accusing him of sexually assaulting them years earlier. Though Fairfax denied the allegations and was never charged, his reputation was tarnished.
