Virginia Governor Blackface, KKK Photo: Ralph Northam Denies He's In Racist Picture, Won't Resign

After first admitting on Friday that he was in a racist photo from a 1984 college yearbook that included a man in blackface standing next to a man in Ku Klux Klan costume, Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia on Saturday said at a press conference at the Governor's Mansion in Richmond that he is not in the picture and would not resign.

"I believe now and then that I am not either of the people in this photo," Northam said of the image that appeared on his profile page in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. "This was not me in that picture. That was not Ralph Northam."

Standing next to his wife Pam, Northam called the picture "horrific" but also admitted he made mistakes from his past, including darkening his face with shoe polish in 1984 to resemble pop singer Michael Jackson, whom Northam said he was a fan of at the time.

News of the photo spread after the Washington Post and CNN published reports on the photo Friday after it was first discovered earlier in the day by conservative website Big League Politics.

Northam on Friday had released a written statement that read: "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."

On Saturday, Northam said he never owned a copy of the yearbook and believed the photo was mistakenly posted on his profile page and that there were other mistakes in the yearbook.

Northam, a Democrat, said he would try to win over those who want him out.

Calls for him to resign have come from civil rights groups and prominent Democrats such as former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement that he had spoken to Northam and that Northam's "past actions are completely antithetical to everything the Democratic Party stands for" and added that he "has lost their trust and his ability to govern."

Northam said that "resigning would be the easier way out."

"I could spare myself from the difficult path that lies ahead. I could avoid an honest conversation about harmful actions from my past," he said. "I cannot in good conscience chose the path that would be easier for me in an effort to duck my responsibility to reconcile."

Northam, 59, began his first term in office in January 2018 after defeating Republican nominee Ed Gillespie by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1985. The election drew national coverage and a large voter turnout.

Should Northam resign, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax would become the second African-American governor of Virginia. Fairfax has not called on Northam to resign.