GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans faces backlash for agreeing with ‘cotton-picking’ comment about Hakeem Jeffries

CongressGOP Rep. Jen Kiggans faces backlash for agreeing with ‘cotton-picking’ comment about Hakeem JeffriesKiggans, one of Democrats’ top targets in November, later said she did not condone that racist phrase. One top Democrat has called on her to resign.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 12, 2026, 10:28 AM EDTBy Kyle Stewart and Scott WongWASHINGTON — Vulnerable Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Virginia Republican, is under fire after she agreed with a radio show host who said that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in Congress — should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Kiggans, one of Democrats’ top targets in the November midterm election, later posted that the host “should not have used that language” and that she did not condone it.But that did little to satisfy Democrats, who have condemned Kiggans and urged her to formally apologize. The second-most powerful House Democrat has called on her to resign.Kiggans was being interviewed Monday by radio host Rich Herrera on “Richmond’s Morning News” about the midterm elections and Democrats’ redistricting efforts in Virginia. Herrera said that if Jeffries wanted to be involved in Virginia politics, then he should move from New York and run for office in the commonwealth.“If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia,” Herrera said of Jeffries.“That’s right,” Kiggans replied. “Ditto. Yes, yes to that.”Kiggans later posted on X that she was agreeing with Herrera’s sentiment that Jeffries should keep out of Virginia politics — not with the racist phrase that has ties to slavery and sharecropping.“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 Jeff...