In Virginia, a state race that will help determine which party controls the legislature has taken an unexpected—and personal—turn. An unnamed Republican operative revealed to the Washington Post that Democratic candidate Susanna Gibson has been performing sex acts with her husband on a site called Chaturbate. The Post viewed archived videos, and the AP reports that it viewed screenshots from videos. In them, Gibson encourages viewers to pay money, or "tips," for specific acts. The 40-year-old nurse practitioner and mother of two is not disputing any of this, but she calls exposure of the videos "the worst kind of gutter politics."
"It won't intimidate me and it won't silence me," she said in a statement. "My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they're willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there's no line they won't cross to silence women when they speak up." Her attorney, Daniel Watkins, suggests exposure of the videos violates the state's revenge-porn law, which makes it illegal to "maliciously" distribute sexual images of someone with the "intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate." Watkins says they are working with law enforcement. It wasn't clear whether the GOP operative disseminated images or just revealed their presence, though the AP says "screenshots were shared" with it.
Gibson is running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, and her GOP opponent, David Owen, says he had nothing to do with the development. "Me and my team found out about this story today like everyone else," Owen said in statement. "I'm sure this is a difficult time for Susanna and her family, and I'm remaining focused on my campaign." Not everyone is critical. "I think it's fantastic you have someone running who has an open sex life," an adult-entertainment lawyer tells the Post, adding that Gibson broke no laws. "It's actually very refreshing." Control of the state legislature is very much up for grabs in November, with a handful of key races in both the House of Delegates and the General Assembly. (More Virginia stories.)
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