Pressure is mounting in Virginia’s attorney general race as Democrat Jay Jones faces a growing chorus of calls to end his campaign following the leak of text messages in which he discussed violence toward former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert. The controversy, which broke into the open after the National Review first reported the texts and the Republican Attorneys General Association published them, has quickly become a flashpoint in the state’s high-stakes 2025 elections.
In the now-infamous 2022 messages, Jones wrote to House Delegate Carrie Coyner, "Three people, two bullets," referencing Gilbert alongside Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. Jones continued, "Gilbert gets two bullets to the head," and added, "Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time." Coyner, a Republican, immediately rebuked Jones, telling him to stop. According to the National Review, Jones later suggested in a follow-up conversation that he wished Gilbert’s wife could see her children die so that Gilbert might reconsider his stance on gun violence.
The fallout has been swift and severe. Republicans, both in Virginia and nationally, have seized on the revelations. President Donald Trump took to social media, labeling Jones a "Radical Left Lunatic" and urging him to drop out "IMMEDIATELY," as reported by The Washington Post. Trump’s intervention, while energizing the GOP base, also carries risks in a state where his approval rating sits at just 39 percent, with 58 percent disapproving, according to a late September 2025 poll by Christopher Newport University.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, now the Republican nominee for governor, wasted no time rolling out an ad linking her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, to Jones. State Attorney General Jason Miyares, Jones’s Republican opponent, aired his own ad on Monday, pointedly asking voters, "Can you trust Jay Jones to protect your children?"
Spanberger, for her part, has tried to distance herself from Jones’s remarks, issuing a statement expressing her "disgust" and making clear that she had communicated that sentiment directly to Jones. Yet, as The Hill notes, Republicans are using the episode to argue that Spanberger and other Democrats are not going far enough, hoping to tie the controversy to the entire Democratic ticket.
Virginia’s Democratic leadership has responded with a mix of condemnation and support. Senate Majority Chair Mamie Locke and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas released a joint statement on Friday denouncing Jones’s comments and reaffirming that "there is no place for political violence." Still, they stopped short of calling for Jones to exit the race, emphasizing the stakes of the election and warning against "allowing this moment to overshadow the urgent fight we are all in for Virginia’s lawmakers." House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, also condemned the texts, describing them as "harmful, reckless, and wrong." He called on Jones to apologize and take accountability, adding, "He must take accountability for his words, and then reflect and pray." Yet, at a campaign stop over the weekend, Scott dismissed the uproar as a distraction, urging supporters to "stay focused" on the broader election.
Jones has publicly apologized, saying he regrets the remarks and wishes he could take them back. "I wish I hadn’t made the remarks in the first place and would take them back if I could," he stated. Despite his contrition, the controversy has only intensified. On Monday, Governor Glenn Youngkin called on Jones to quit the race, telling Fox and Friends, "They have got to call on this guy to resign, step down, get out of this race in disgrace because this is beyond disqualifying. I mean, they’re asking people to vote for this guy to be the attorney general of the commonwealth of Virginia?" Television host Joe Scarborough, speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, joined the chorus, saying Jones should "probably be forced to drop out of the race."
The story took another turn when The Virginia Scope reported that Coyner recalled a 2020 phone call with Jones in which he allegedly said that if a few police officers died, maybe they would stop killing people. Jones has denied making these comments. Nevertheless, these additional allegations have only fueled calls for him to step aside.
Despite the controversy, some Democratic groups are standing by Jones. The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee released a statement over the weekend reaffirming their support, stating, "Recent press may have highlighted past mistakes. We say, let those without sin cast the first stone." On social media, Rep. Eugene Vindman, a Democrat representing Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, urged voters to "make a plan to vote" for Spanberger, Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmi, and Jones. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, responded by branding Vindman "radical."
Republican strategists believe the scandal could be a "massive turning point" in the general election. Zack Roday, a Virginia-based GOP strategist, told The Hill, "This is going to motivate a whole lot of infrequent voters. And it absolutely will persuade people to second guess, like actual people, their priors. They very well may consider split ticket or changing where they’re going to vote." Matt Whitlock, another GOP strategist, drew a parallel to the 2021 gubernatorial race, when a controversial remark by Democrat Terry McAuliffe about parental involvement in schools shifted the election’s dynamic. "Democrats spent weeks after that trying to pretend it didn’t happen, but it ended up shifting the entire dynamic of the race," Whitlock said.
Polls show the attorney general race is competitive. The Christopher Newport University poll from late September had Jones leading Miyares by 7 points, with 12 percent of respondents undecided. Spanberger led Earle-Sears by a wider margin of 12 points, with 8 percent undecided. These numbers suggest that the fallout from Jones’s texts could have a significant impact, especially given the number of voters who remain uncommitted.
For Virginia Democrats, the situation is fraught. Prominent Black leaders in the legislature, including Lucas, Locke, and Scott, have continued to back Jones, who is also Black, complicating the calculus for any potential call for him to step down. Meanwhile, Republicans are eager to keep the controversy front and center, hoping it will not only cost Jones the attorney general’s race but also drag down Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
As the story continues to unfold, both parties are watching closely to see how voters respond. With only weeks left before Election Day, the fate of Jay Jones’s campaign—and perhaps the broader Democratic ticket—may hinge on how Virginians weigh the gravity of his remarks against the political stakes of 2025.