President Donald Trump and national Republican lawmakers are pouncing on controversial text messages from Virginia Democrat Jay Jones in an attempt to shift momentum away from Democrats in the commonwealth’s bellwether elections next month.
Jones, the Democratic attorney general, reportedly sent violent text messages suggesting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert should receive “two bullets to the head,” which has unified Republicans to call for his exit from the race against Republican state Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Recommended Stories
- Cuomo knocks Mamdani for wanting to arrest Netanyahu: 'Not even legal'
- Cuomo says Mamdani victory 'a gift' for Trump to 'take over New York'
- Trump gives Earle-Sears the cold shoulder as he wades into Virginia races
The GOP hopes the October surprise will upend the race in a moment similar to Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s (R-VA) dominant debate performance in 2021, when his support of parental rights helped flip the governor’s mansion red for the first time since 2009.
“This was the Terry McAuliffe moment of this cycle,” a former Republican Party official told the Washington Examiner, pointing to former Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s statements on parental rights that led to Youngkin’s win. “That’s how big of a game-changer those texts are to the race.”
TRUMP GIVES EARLE-SEARS THE COLD SHOULDER AS HE WADES INTO VIRGINIA RACES
Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several Republicans both took to social media to denounce Jones over the weekend and endorse the Republican candidate instead.
“Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the Race, IMMEDIATELY, and the People of Virginia must continue to have a GREAT Attorney General in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my Complete and Total Endorsement — JASON WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
This marked his first official endorsement in the three Virginia statewide races. He did not endorse Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA), the Republican gubernatorial nominee, or John Reid, the GOP lieutenant governor nominee.
“The Democrat candidate for AG in Virginia has been fantasizing about murdering his political opponents in private messages. I’m sure the people hyperventilating about sombrero memes will join me in calling for this very deranged person to drop out of the race,” wrote Vice President JD Vance on X Saturday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the text messages from Jones “shocking, alarming, and completely unacceptable,” during a Monday press briefing. “He was threatening to kill his opponent and his opponent’s children, and that type of rhetoric has zero place in our country. And the president was absolutely right to condemn that.”
The scandal has jolted the somewhat sleepy Virginia statewide races as Democrats hope to flip the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the attorney general seats. Led by former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Democrats were heading into the election with the headwinds pointing to victory.
Instead, Republicans are pressuring Democrats to condemn Jones and urge him to leave the race after last month’s shocking killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk reignited a national conversation about political violence.
Miyares announced on Monday that his campaign spent $1.5 million on an ad campaign highlighting disturbing, violent texts from Jones, highlighting how salient the scandal has become.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, seeking a second Senate run in Michigan, wrote on X that Jones’s comments were “Despicable.”
“This is exactly the root cause of political violence. Jay Jones needs to drop out,” he continued.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee taunted Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) on Monday afternoon over Jones’s comments, as the senator had yet to address the issue.
“Any thoughts on a member from your own party calling for the murder of his Republican opponent and his children? Your silence is deafening,” the NRSC wrote on X in response to Kaine’s comments about Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl.
When asked for comment, Kaine said in a statement that “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades.”
Trump’s endorsement will likely motivate Republicans in the Old Dominion to show up and vote for Miyares. But Miyares is not the leading candidate on the GOP ticket. Earle-Sears, who is trailing Spanberger in polling, sits atop the ticket, and whether she can lead the GOP to retain its statewide dominance in Virginia is unclear.
“If Donald Trump thought that endorsing Earle-Sears would change the dynamics of the race, he would do it,” said a Republican official who requested anonymity to speak freely. “The issue here is that she is lagging greatly in fundraising. She’s not been a very good messenger, even though she’s a sitting lieutenant governor, and that’s why she trails by more than seven points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls in Virginia.”
However, Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist, said the GOP’s strategy of pouncing on Jones’s comments “is smart.”
“If you look at the polls, regardless of whether you’re in Virginia or anywhere else, Republicans lead significantly by as many as 20 points on crime,” O’Connell said. “And when you have essentially the candidate for the chief law enforcement position in the Commonwealth of Virginia arguing that you should assassinate political opponents, that’s not a good thing.”
Democrats have not yet begun to call on Jones, who has apologized for the comments, to exit the race.
“After learning of these comments earlier today, I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted,” Spanberger said in a statement.
“I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words. What I have also made clear is that as a candidate — and the next Governor of our Commonwealth, I will always condemn violent language in our politics.”
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) still supports Jones, according to a Sunday post on X in which he encouraged Virginians to back the Democratic ticket.
Jones and Miyares are scheduled to face off on the debate stage on Oct. 16 at the University of Richmond, where the controversial text messages will be a major point of questioning and attacks.
Spanberger and Earle-Sears will debate at Norfolk State University this Thursday, with Republicans expecting the lieutenant governor to slam Democrats over Jones.
“Democrats are trying as hard as they can to move on from the situation because they know it could be a game-changer,” said O’Connell. “Particularly when you look at the issues in a state like Virginia, where the independents and the Republicans are concerned about crime.”
Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.