Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring came forward Wednesday saying that he had dressed in blackface in 1980.

The announcement comes just days after the state was thrown into chaos after a racist photo surfaced from a yearbook page belonging to Gov. Ralph Northam.

In a statement, Herring, a Democrat, said: “In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song. It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes — and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others — we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.”

He said the incident was a “onetime occurrence” and he accepts “full responsibility for his conduct.”

“That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then,” he said.

Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/FBDcgxHOq9

— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) February 6, 2019

Herring reportedly met with members of the legislative black caucus Wednesday morning. He has not indicated whether he will step down, but said, “in the days ahead, honest conversations and discussions will make it clear whether I can or should continue to serve as attorney general.”

Herring, who recently announced he was running for governor of Virginia, previously called on Northam to resign. Herring is second in line to be governor after Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, who is being accused of sexual assault. Fairfax would take Northam’s seat if he resigns.

Herring is from Loudoun County, where he served on the county’s Board of Supervisors. He was also a state Senator representing parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties before first being elected Attorney General in 2013.

Latest on Governor Northam

Despite mounting calls for Northam to step down after a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page surfaced Friday, Northam has not indicated he’d resign.

Instead, over the past few days, the embattled governor has considered the idea of switching parties to become an independent, the Washington Post reported.

When the news of the photo first emerged, Northam apologized for saying he appearedin a photo that showed one man in blackface and the another person in a Ku Klux Klan robe. But in a reversal on Saturday, the governor said he wasn’t in the photo, though he admitted to appearing in blackface once before as Michael Jackson in a dance contest.

Latest on Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax

Meanwhile, Virginia’s second-in-command again denied allegations Wednesday that he sexually assaulted a woman. The allegations against the lieutenant governor, by Vanessa Tyson, first surfaced Monday on the conservative blog Big League Politics.

Tyson issued a statement Wednesday afternoon detailing the alleged assault during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. In her statement, she says Fairfax forced her to perform a sexual act. She has hired the same law firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford – the doctor who alleged that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school.

Fairfax claims that the encounter was consensual.

“I wish her no harm or humiliation, nor do I seek to denigrate her or diminish her voice. But I cannot agree with a description of events that I know Is not true,” Fairfax said.

Line of Succession

Virginia’s top three leaders – all Democrats – are currently embroiled in their own controversies, which has led to questions about the state’s line of succession.

According to the Virginia Constitution, if Gov. Ralph Northam resigns, the Lt. Governor would then become governor. If Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax is unable to serve, then the Attorney General would become governor.

If Attorney General Mark Herring is unable to serve, the House Speaker, Kirk Cox, a Republican, would then serve as governor. Finally, if the House Speaker is unable to serve, the state House would convene and fill the Governor’s seat.

In terms of filling an empty Attorney General seat, the legislature would vote for who would serve the remainder of the term if the General Assembly is in session. If it’s not in session, the governor would appoint a person to fill the role until the legislature is in session again.

Political Implications

The controversy in Virginia is happening with the backdrop of an election year, where every state Delegate and Senator will be up for election. Democrats made significant gains in the state legislature in 2017, picking up 15 seats in the House, and are hoping to flip more seats this year.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced in December it would spend $1 million to help flip Virginia from red to blue in the 2019 state elections.

But now the party’s top leader in the state, Northam, has been mired in scandal. Many of the state’s Democrats, as well as U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have called on Northam to resign.

This story originally appeared on WAMU. This story has been updated to clarify that Herring is the second in line to be governor.