Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax accused his Democratic rivals for governor of treating him like George Floyd or Emmett Till by calling for his resignation in 2019 over unresolved sexual assault complaints without affording him due process.

“Everyone here on this stage called for my immediate resignation, including Terry McAuliffe,” Lt. Gov. Fairfax said during Tuesday night’s debate between the five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

“He treated me like George Floyd. He treated me like Emmett Till. No due process. Immediately assumed my guilt,” Lt. Gov. Fairfax said, referring to Mr. McAuliffe, the former governor who polls peg as the current front-runner in the gubernatorial race.

The lieutenant governor was responding to a question about the future of law enforcement when he made the comparison to himself and the two Black men who were killed by white violence — Mr. Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis Police officer last May and Mr. Till, a teen who was murdered in August 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.

Lt. Gov. Fairfax said he, a Black man, had his life changed “in an instant” by the presumption of guilt.

None of the other candidates, Mr. McAuliffe, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond, former Prince William County Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy or Delegate Lee Carter of Manassas, responded to his comments during the debate.

The debate, hosted by WTVR-CBS 6, was the first of four sponsored by the state Democratic Party ahead of the June 8 primary. Early voting starts later this month.

The winner of the primary will take on a Republican and at least one independent candidate in the November general election.

Going into the debate, polls from Christopher Newport University and YouGov have Mr. McAuliffe leading the Democratic field as he seeks to reclaim the seat he held from 2014 to 2018. Virginia governors cannot succeed themselves. Mr. McAuliffe said in order for Virginia to move to the next level, the state needs to “go big and go bold.”

“We cannot tinker around the edges. We have to lead, we have to be forward, we have to lead this country in taking us out of this COVID crisis,” he said, noting his experience can help lead Virginia out of the public health and resulting economic crises.

“We did it before and we’ll do it again,” Mr. McAuliffe said, referring to the recession and recovery during his tenure as governor.

Mr. McAuliffe came under fire from Ms. Carroll Foy and Sen. McClellan, attorneys who challenged his record on gun reform. They criticized a compromise Mr. McAuliffe struck with Republicans that produced several tighter gun control measures while striking down a state policy that would not have recognized in Virginia concealed weapons permits issued by 25 other states. Republicans controlled the Virginia General Assembly at the time.

“I was born and raised right here in Petersburg that has one of the highest rates of gun violence in Virginia. ... So when I tell you gun violence is personal to me, I mean it,” Ms. Carroll Foy said.

A Virginia Military Institute graduate and public defender, Ms. Carroll Foy recounted her experience with gun violence. She criticized Mr. McAuliffe for not going far enough on gun reform as governor.

As a mother who has faced hard financial decisions during the pandemic, Ms. Carroll Foy said Virginians deserve a governor who has “walked in their shoes” and empathizes with their circumstances.

Ms. Carroll Foy or Sen. McClellan would become the first Black woman governor in the nation if either wins the primary and the Nov. 2 election.

During the debate, Sen. McClellan, an attorney with Verizon, touted her experience as a legislator who can work across the aisle and get things done.

“I have more state government experience than all of the other candidates on the stage combined,” she said.

With 16 General Assembly sessions under her belt, Sen. McClellan said her ability to find common ground with legislators and understanding different perspectives is what makes her the right candidate to rebuild the state’s economic and health care safety nets.

Delegate Carter also views himself as a candidate who wants to address the divide in Virginia’s government.

“I think it’s no secret that Virginia is divided, but that division is not between Democrats and Republicans. It’s not between urban and rural voters. That division is between the haves and the have nots,” said Delegate Carter, a Marine veteran who identifies as a socialist.

As a legislator, Delegate Carter has introduced and supported bills to repeal the death penalty and legalize marijuana. If elected governor, he said he intends to address equity in the Commonwealth.