In response to a Federalist inquiry, not a single Democrat U.S. Senator called for the Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones to drop out of the race in light of his text messages fantasizing about assassinating Republican Todd Gilbert.
“Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones wrote, after running a hypothetical about how to allocate two bullets among Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. The 2022 text messages were first reported by National Review on Friday. According to a source cited by the outlet, Jones also “suggested he wished Gilbert’s wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views” in a follow-up phone call with a Republican state lawmaker.
The Federalist reached out to each Senate Democrat, asking if they would call for Jones to drop out of the race in light of his violent comments.
Only Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., addressed The Federalist’s inquiry. Though Kaine criticized Jones’ remarks, he also refused to call for him to drop out. “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words, and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades,” Kaine said. “With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it’s up to Virginians to decide.”
(The Federalist also received an automatic reply email from Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office stating that most messages sent there would not receive a reply during the federal government shutdown, and that the staff member would reply once normal operations resume.)
Other state and U.S. Democrat senators of Virginia have released statements similar to Kaine’s, stopping short of calling on Jones to drop out.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., reportedly described Jones’ comments as “appalling” and “inconsistent with the person I’ve known.”
Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell wrote in a statement that “fantasizing about shooting a legislative colleague — even in a hypothetical scenario — represents a serious lapse in judgment that cannot be defended,” and that Jones “owes Virginians, his former colleagues, and particularly the Gilbert family a full and unconditional apology for these deeply inappropriate comments.” However, Sen. Surovell stopped short of calling for Jones to drop out.
Others, including Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat candidate for Virginia governor, have criticized Jones’ violent statements, again without pulling their support. Meanwhile, multiple Democrat party committees stood by Jones, with the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee statement saying that it “reaffirms its full support of Jay Jones for Attorney General.”
Jones reportedly issued a statement after the text messages were exposed, indicating he had sent texts he “regret[s].” However, in this initial statement, he did not apologize to Gilbert or his family and, after noting that “violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,” went on to smear Republicans for attacking his “character.” He later issued another statement following backlash in which he claimed to “take full responsibility for my actions” and apologized, as reported by The Federalist.
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears called Jones’ 2022 comments about Gilbert “wholly disqualifying of someone running for an office that protects the people of Virginia.”
Likewise, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and others have called for Jones to drop out of the race, and Gov. Glen Youngkin, R-Va., said Jones’ remarks are “beyond disqualifying.”
Even the pundits on far-left MSNBC’s Morning Joe stated, “The pressure is going to be on Spanberger” and the Democratic Party to ask Jones “to just quit the race.”
“This guy should do everyone a favor … and step out of the race.”
Catherine Gripp is a graduate of Arizona Christian University where she earned a degree in communication and a minor in political science. She writes for The Federalist as a reporting intern.