Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., is facing backlash and calls for her resignation after responding “ditto” to a radio host who said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., should keep his “cotton-picking hands off” Virginia during a discussion about the state’s congressional redistricting battle.

During an interview Monday on “Richmond’s Morning News,” conservative radio host Rich Herrera criticized national Democrats’ involvement in Virginia’s redistricting fight. Herrera used a racial slur while attacking Jeffries’ support for a new congressional map that could favor Democrats in the 2026 midterms. 

“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing. Leave New York, move down here to Virginia. Run for office down here, you can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia,” Herrera told Kiggans.

Kiggans responded by saying “that’s right,” and did not challenge Herrera’s language.

“That’s right. Ditto, yes, yes to that,” the congresswoman replied.

As of Monday evening, the interview appears to have been removed from the Apple podcast page of “Richmond’s Morning News.”

Kiggans currently represents Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, a competitive coastal district centered around Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads region, which Democrats hope to flip. According to the Cook Political Report, the district is 27.14% Black or African American.

Democrats and civil rights advocates called out Kiggans over the exchange.

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC condemned Herrera’s remark as a “vile racist slur.”

“Jen Kiggans heard a vile racist slur and agreed out loud — that’s who she is,” a spokesperson for the CBC PAC said in a statement. “We’re going to make sure her constituents know she condones this racist crap.”

Former Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., who is running to unseat Kiggans this fall, called the radio host’s choice of language “disgusting” and “beneath any elected official.”

“These comments come at a time when the Supreme Court and Republican controlled state legislatures are disenfranchising Black voters and wiping out Black representation across southern states, which Jen Kiggans applauds,” Luria said in a statement.

Several House members have also called for Kiggans to resign, including Reps. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Grace Meng, D-N.Y.

Kiggans defended herself against criticism over the interview, saying she did not condone Herrera’s language and was only agreeing that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia’s redistricting fight.

“This is precisely what’s wrong with Democrats. Every lie and distortion is intended to distract from getting their hats handed to them and the Virginia Supreme Court’s clear message: stop trying to rig our elections,” Kiggans wrote on X.

“The radio host should not have used that language and I do not — and did not —condone it. It was obvious to anyone listening that I was agreeing Hakeem Jefferies should stay out of Virginia,” she said.

Jeffries’ office did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

Before responding to the host’s racial remark, Kiggans criticized Jeffries, saying he is “sick with power” and describing Democrats’ redistricting effort as “a blatant power grab.”

“Why does Hakeem Jeffries care what’s going on in the Commonwealth of Virginia? It’s because they want to take back power in Washington,” Kiggans said.

Jeffries is the highest-ranking Black elected official in Congress and has become a central figure in Democrats’ broader strategy to reclaim control of the House next year.  He is poised to become the first Black speaker of the House if Democrats win control of the chamber this fall. 

Jeffries has strongly backed efforts to redraw Virginia’s congressional map, which could help Democrats pick up four House seats, arguing Republicans nationwide have aggressively pursued redistricting to protect and expand their House majority.

Democrats contend the proposed Virginia map better reflects the state’s political makeup and voting patterns, while Republicans have accused Democrats of attempting a partisan power grab through the courts.

The voter-backed map was struck down Friday by the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled the redistricting plan could not move forward ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrats appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.

MS NOW’s Kevin Frey, Mychael Schnell and Ali Vitali contributed to this report.

The post Rep. Kiggans defends response after radio host’s racial remark aimed at Jeffries appeared first on MS NOW.