“This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign," said Julian Castro, former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary. | Edward A. Ornelas/Getty Images politics Democratic presidential candidates urge Northam to resign

A host of current and likely Democratic presidential candidates called on Ralph Northam to resign Friday following a report that showed the Virginia governor appearing in a racist yearbook picture.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro was the first to urge Northam to resign. “It doesn’t matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat,” Castro tweeted. “This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign.”


In an interview with CNN, Castro noted that in 1984, when the yearbook was published, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was running for president.

“He wasn’t, you know, in high school or younger than that. He was an adult,” Castro said of Northam. “1984 was not, you know, 70 years ago.”

Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the two African-American presidential candidates, both said more should be expected of a leader and that Northam should resign.

“The stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government,” Harris said. “These images arouse centuries of anger, anguish, and racist violence and they’ve eroded all confidence in Gov. Northam’s ability to lead,” Booker added.

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Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also followed suit. Warren called the picture “deeply disturbing” and intolerable, while Gillibrand said “racism cannot be excused in our government or anywhere else.” Both said he should resign.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, another likely candidate, didn’t release a public statement. But he also said Northam should resign.

Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney noted that the picture was published at a time when Douglas Wilder was poised to become lieutenant governor of Virginia and later serve as the state’s first black governor.

“We all know that no single person is irreplaceable in any job, and the governor needs to search deeply to determine whether he can both continue to lead and obtain the forgiveness of those who he has hurt,” Delaney said in a statement. “I suspect the answers to these questions is ‘no’ — which is why I would counsel him to resign.”

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has hinted at entering the Democratic primary, and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who is expected to launch a presidential campaign, joined in on the calls for Northam’s resignation, too. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), another potential presidential candidate, also weighed in demanding Northam resign.

“This has been a heartbreaking day. Ralph Northam is my friend and he served well as my Lt. Governor and as Governor,” said former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is looking at a possible White House run. “His actions on display in this photo were racist, unacceptable and inexcusable at any age and any time. The situation that he has put himself and the Commonwealth of Virginia in is untenable. It’s time for Ralph to step down, and for the Commonwealth to move forward.”

On Saturday, former Vice President Joe Biden and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), both reportedly considering bids for the presidency, called for Northam to resign. Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, also widely reported to be weighing a run, demanded Northam step down Saturday.

Gina Raimondo, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, on Saturday also called on Northam to quit.

The conservative website Big League Politics first reported that Northam’s 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook includes an image of one person wearing blackface and another a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood. Northam confirmed he is pictured but didn’t specify which person he is in the photograph.

CBS News reported that Northam also listed “Coonman” — a racial slur — as his nickname in his Virginia Military Institute yearbook.

In a statement, Northam acknowledged that the image is “clearly racist and offensive” and apologized.

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” he said. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service.”

However, on Saturday, the embattled governor refused to resign, saying at a press conference he did not believe he was pictured — although he did admit to having dressed in blackface in the past, as pop star Michael Jackson.

“I believe then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo,” Northam said, adding that “I recognize that many people will find this difficult to believe” because the day before he admitted he was in the picture.

In admitting he did wrong, Northam said he has changed as has the culture.

“The person I was is not the man I am today,” Northam said. “I ask for the opportunity to ask for your forgiveness.”

Friday was the first day of Black History Month. But this is the second controversy involving a politician and blackface in as many weeks. Florida Secretary of State Mike Ertel resigned last week when photos surfaced of him dressed for Halloween as a blackfaced Hurricane Katrina victim months after the devastating storm.

Daniel Strauss and Marc Caputo contributed to this report