Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger refused, several times in a row, to withdraw her endorsement of Democratic candidate for state attorney general Jay Jones during the gubernatorial debate Thursday, saying the decision is “up to the voters.”
Her opponent, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, used her allotted time for the first question — on the Virginia car tax — to ask Spanberger if she would not only denounce the texts, but also withdraw her endorsement of Jones.
Spanberger did not speak on the subject until the second question, when she was explicitly asked if she would not only withdraw her endorsement but also if she knew of the texts before they were released. The texts were made public last week when National Review‘s Audrey Fahlberg first reported on the exchange.
Although Spanberger called the texts “abhorrent,” she did not answer either of the questions. The Democratic candidate, rather, claimed that Earle-Sears “only denounces violence when her side is the target,” presumably in reference to President Donald Trump saying he hates his enemies at Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Phoenix.
“I didn’t hear an answer there on the endorsement issue, so I wanted to make sure, will you continue to endorse Jay Jones to be the next attorney general of Virginia? And were you aware these text messages existed?” Deanna Allbrittin of WRIC-TV, one of the moderators of the debate, asked Spanberger.
“I had knowledge of the text messages the day they came out, and I denounced them the second I learned of them,” Spanberger said.
On the topic of endorsement, Spanberger said it is up to the voters.
“At this point, as we move forward, the voters now have this information, information that was withheld from them,” Spanberger said. “The voters now have this information, and it is up to the voters to make an individual choice based on that information.”
Allbrittin asked again whether Spanberger herself will continue to endorse Jones.
“We are all running our individual races,” Spanberger said. “It is up to every person to make their own decision.”
When Allbrittin tried to confirm, once again, that Spanberger is still endorsing Jones, Spanberger persisted, saying that she is responsible for her actions, her policies, and her words.
Earle-Sears took the opportunity to push more, asking why Spanberger will not answer the question of endorsement.
“I’m wondering why my opponent won’t say beyond it’s ‘abhorrent’ and ‘disgusting,’ why she won’t say it is not okay and that he must leave the race because Jay Jones advocated for murder, Abigail, the murder of a man, a former speaker, as well as his children, who were two and five years old. You have little girls, what would it take, him pulling the trigger?” Earle-Sears said.
Spanberger stood by her refusal to comment.
Jones, who in 2022 had just resigned from the state house, sent violent text messages to former state house colleague Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner, detailing his distaste for Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert.
When talking about his Republican colleagues, Jones mentioned going to “their funerals to piss on their graves.” He also said, if he had two bullets and was faced with murdering either Gilbert or two dictators, he would use both bullets on Gilbert.
The exchange has prompted even more conversations on political violence and rhetoric, and the text messages have gained national traction. Trump recently commented on the exchange, calling for Jones to immediately withdraw from the race. At this time, Jones has not dropped out of the race.