Northam's possible successor, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, denies sexual assault allegations

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) released a statement early Monday categorically denying a report published Sunday night accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

The allegation was publicized by Big League Politics, the same conservative website which last week broke the story that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) placed a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook page. Should Northam reverse course and resign over the revelation, Fairfax would be his successor.

Fairfax's denial says — and CBS affiliate WUSA9 in Washington, D.C., confirms — multiple outlets including The Washington Post previously investigated the allegation and elected not to run it, concluding there was not enough evidence to go to print.

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Per Big League Politics, the woman accusing Fairfax is one Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at California's Scripps College and fellow at Stanford University. Tyson has yet to comment directly to the press; the initial report is based on a private message she wrote to a friend and reportedly gave permission to be shared. Details of the allegation have not been revealed.