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During a tumultuous seven-day span in February, the top three members of the executive branch of the state of Virginia saw ghosts from each of their respective pasts come back to haunt them, forcing the state and national Democratic Party to confront a tricky question: as a party that champions minorities and believes survivors, how can it put its values where its collective mouth is?
Most top Democrats denounced Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring for appearing in blackface, and many called for an investigation into allegations that Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax committed sexual assault. Yet two months after the allegations surfaced, all three officials are still in office following weeks of quiet comeback tours and sheer avoidance.