With growing bipartisan pressure for Gov. Ralph Northam to resign following images that appeared in his 1984 medical college yearbook, local leaders of both Democratic and Republican parties are following suit, saying it would be best for the commonwealth that he step down sooner than later.

The image in question appears under Northam’s Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page, showing a man in blackface standing next to another individual dressed in the hooded robes of a Klansman.

On Friday, Northam issued a statement apologizing for his past behavior saying in part, “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.”

Then, during a press conference on Saturday, Northam said he had had an opportunity to review the photos and speak with several former EVMS classmates, and reached the conclusion that he was neither of the two individuals that appeared in the photo in question. He did a...