Republican Jen Kiggans faces calls to resign for agreeing with racist 'cotton-picking' remark [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 12 May 2026 16.00 EDT
First published on Tue 12 May 2026 09.24 EDT


Jen Kiggans, a Republican congresswoman, is facing calls from Democrats to resign for agreeing with a radio host after he said the top US House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia”.

Kiggans, who represents a swing district in southeastern Virginia, has said she was agreeing with the host that Jeffries – who is the first Black American to lead a party in Congress – should stay out of the state’s politics. She also said she did not condone the host’s language, which multiple Democrats criticized as racist.

The term “cotton-picking” is widely considered offensive due to the US history of slavery, when enslaved people – the overwhelming majority of whom were Black – picked cotton.

“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing,” Rich Herrera, a conservative radio host, said on Richmond’s Morning News on Monday. “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.

Kiggans replied: “That’s right. Ditto – yes, yes to that.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/12/kiggans-resign-racist-comment-radio