The 2025 Virginia Lieutenant Governor “Debate” – YouTube screenshot
John Reid, a gay Republican radio host running for Virginia lieutenant governor, posted a 40-minute video of himself debating an AI-generated version of his Democratic opponent after she declined repeated debate requests.
The attention-grabbing video, posted to Reid’s YouTube channel, shows him standing behind a podium as if at a formal debate, facing what his campaign claims is an AI-generated version of State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond), programmed with her policy positions and a robotic approximation of her voice.
Reid’s campaign insists he didn’t see the debate questions in advance. Even the moderator, they said, was a computer program.
The campaign told The Washington Post they turned to the AI debate after Hashmi repeatedly declined to face him. The event was live-streamed to a few hundred viewers on Reid’s YouTube channel earlier this week and remains publicly available.
Noah Jennings, Reid’s campaign manager, said the team aimed to simulate a real debate that was “fair and accurate to [Hashmi], not campy or overdramatic.” He added that they would have preferred a real debate to what he called a gimmick.
There have been no forums or formal debates in the lieutenant governor’s race — as was the case four years ago, when Winsome Earle-Sears defeated Democrat Hala Ayala amid Glenn Youngkin’s sweeping gubernatorial win.
Hashmi’s campaign dismissed the stunt, telling Axios the senator never granted permission for her likeness to be used.
“John Reid’s failed use of deepfakes is a desperate move straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” Hashmi campaign spokesperson Ava Pitruzzello said in a statement. “While we appreciate that AI Ghazala did share her vision like her commitment to public education and reproductive rights — it’s pretty clear, Reid only cares about shoddy gimmicks and not governing.
“Maybe he should focus on voters instead of videos. And hasn’t he gotten in enough trouble online already?” Pitruzzello added, with a dig at Reid referencing the myriad controversies over the Tumblr account.
“John Reid’s failed use of deepfakes is a desperate move straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” said Hashmi campaign spokesperson Ava Pitruzzello. “While we appreciate that AI Ghazala shared her vision — like her commitment to public education and reproductive rights — it’s clear Reid cares more about gimmicks than governing.”
On X, the Democratic Party of Virginia shared screenshots of AI Hashmi’s responses they said cast both her and the party in a positive light.
“Tonight we congratulate @SenatorHashmi for winning @JohnReid4VA’s fake debate — and thank John Reid for sharing Ghazala’s winning message,” the party wrote.
Tonight, we congratulate @SenatorHashmi for winning @JohnReid4VA‘s fake debate, and thank John Reid for sharing Ghazala’s winning message. Here are some key quotes that John Reid shared from tonight’s debate: pic.twitter.com/ujsxIWKhOv
Hashmi’s campaign has aired two television ads, compared to none from Reid, whose team has instead released web spots on YouTube that have circulated on social media.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Hashmi has raised more than five times Reid’s total and, as of September, held nearly ten times more cash on hand.
Despite Hashmi’s financial advantage and the Tumblr controversies that could have derailed him, the gay Republican appears largely unfazed and is running a credible, competitive campaign. A recent Washington Post-Schar Schoolpoll showed Hashmi leading Reid by 4% — within the margin of error — while a VCU Wilder Schoolpoll found them essentially tied, 44% to 43%.
Reid’s AI debate may have been born of frustration, but it perfectly captures a campaign season where technology keeps blurring the line between strategy and spectacle. Voters will decide whether it reads as clever innovation or pure desperation.
John Reid, the gay Republican nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, has defended the right of his running mate, current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to oppose same-sex marriage -- even though he personally disagrees with her on the issue.
Speaking on the conservative talk radio program The Wilkow Majority on SiriusXM, Reid said he and Earle-Sears are "willing to put aside our differences" to support policies they believe are best for Virginia. Host Andrew Wilkow then asked Reid to name an issue on which the two disagree.
"She's not for gay marriage. She's 100 percent against it," Reid said. "You know, she's from Jamaica, and her religious background tells her a very different narrative than my Episcopalian white-guy Virginia background. I understand!"
Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, has released a new ad attacking her Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, for claiming during a recent debate that firing someone for being gay -- or for opposing same-sex marriage -- does not amount to "discrimination."
Titled "That's Not Discrimination," the ad focuses on Earle-Sears' long record of opposing LGBTQ rights throughout her two-decade political career.
It mixes clips from Earle-Sears' contentious debate with Spanberger at Norfolk State University with a news report about how Earle-Sears penned a handwritten note on a bill she was required to sign -- a procedural duty of her role as Virginia's lieutenant governor and presiding officer of the Senate -- expressing her moral opposition to same-sex marriage.
In a heated October 9 debate in Virginia’s governor’s race, Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears defended her belief that treating LGBTQ people differently from heterosexual or cisgender individuals does not amount to discrimination.
Earle-Sears, who trails in most public polls, used the debate as a last-ditch attempt to paint former Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger as extreme, out of touch, or untrustworthy. She pressed Spanberger on issues like transgender participation in sports and restroom access. She attacked her for not calling on Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones to withdraw after his comments appeared to endorse political violence.
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