VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Reaction continues to grow following a radio interview Congresswoman Jen Kiggans gave earlier this week.
During the radio interview, a host used the phrase "cotton picking hands." Kiggans responded, "That's right. Ditto. Yes. Yes to that."
Kiggans told News 3 reporter Brendan Ponton over the phone that she was responding to the sentiment — not the language — of not wanting House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be involved with Virginia politics.
"Of course he should never have used the language that he used. That was not the sentiment I was agreeing to. The sentiment I was agreeing to was that Hakeem Jeffries should not be meddling in Virginia politics," Kiggans said.
News 3 asked her campaig if there was anything else they wanted to say about the incident, but they did not respond Wednesday.
Virginia Democrats addressed the interview Wednesday afternoon, pushing back on Kiggans' explanation.
"The racist phrase — cotton picking hands — the phrase isn't harmless," said Del. Michael Feggans (D-Virginia Beach). "It's rooted in our painful history of our enslaved ancestors."
Some Democrats went as far as calling for Kiggans to step down.
"Jen Kiggans needs to be a real leader. She needs to apologize and resign," said Del. Nadarius Clark (D-Suffolk).
A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee defended Kiggans in a statement.
"Democrats' performative outrage over this total nothingburger is completely selective and driven by politics, not principle," Spokesman Will Kiley said.
The spokesperson also pointed to Virginia Democrats standing by Jay Jones last fall when text messages of his surfaced during his campaign for Attorney General — including one in which he suggested he would like to shoot the former Republican Speaker of the House of Delegates.
When asked about that comparison, Democrats responded.
"What I'll say is that's a statement that is somewhat of a distraction from where we should be focusing. All over this country, what we are seeing in this time is an erasure of Black districts and Black representatives," said Del. Cliff Hayes (D-Chesapeake).
Frank Walton, who has operated the Walton Funeral Home in Virginia Beach's Princess Anne community since taking over the business from his father, said he found Kiggans's comments disappointing.
"There's a higher bar for someone who holds office, especially in a very diverse district like the second," Walton said.
The funeral home has been a fixture in the Princess Anne community since 1967.
Walton said he does not expect Kiggans to resign, and believes voters should focus on her record instead.
"There will be another story tomorrow or the next day. Those who are calling on her to resign — we all know that's not going to happen. I would give them one recommendation: vote," Walton said.
"If we're going to look at Ms. Kiggans' record, I hope we don't look at this one particular endorsement of a statement on a show. I think we should look at the record. I think we should look at how she's voted in Washington — that impacts the everyday person," Walton said.
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