WaPo Flowchart of what could happen next in Virginia
A week ago, the future of Virginias governors mansion seemed fairly obvious: Gov. Ralph Northam (D) would resign in the wake of the emergence of a racist photo from his medical school yearbook, and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) would take over.
But its been a long week. Now it seems more likely that Fairfax will resign, following multiple allegations of sexual assault against him. Northam seems to be prepared to dig in, perhaps frustrating no one more than Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D), who, as second in line to the governors seat, would have seemed to be well positioned if both Northam and Fairfax stumbled. Of course, his own history of appearing in blackface also put Herring on the rocks, leaving third-in-line Speaker of the House Kirk Cox (R) in a suddenly advantageous position.
With so much up in the air in the state, we decided to put together a flowchart showing how the dominoes might fall if any do. Were grateful to A.E. Dick Howard, Warner-Booker distinguished professor of international law at the University of Virginia and executive director of Virginias Commission on Constitutional Revision, for his patience with multiple, out-of-the-blue emailed questions as things got ever murkier.
Lets begin.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/09/what-could-happen-next-virginia-flowchart/?utm_term=.4605988980b7