In the final, feverish weeks before Virginia’s pivotal November 2025 elections, a string of controversies has swept through the state’s political landscape, casting uncertainty over several high-profile races and raising questions about the character and conduct of those seeking public office. From the attorney general’s race to the local school board, candidates are grappling with revelations and accusations that threaten to reshape voter sentiment just as early voting gets underway.
The term “October surprise” is tossed around every election cycle, but this year, Virginia’s contests seem to be living up to the phrase with gusto. On October 3, 2025, reports first broke about a series of alarming text messages allegedly sent by Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, back in 2022. According to National Review, a right-leaning publication, Jones wrote to his then-colleague, Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, a hypothetical scenario in which, if given two bullets and faced with Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, and then-Virginia Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert, he would use both bullets on Gilbert. The message read, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler: Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know, and he receives both bullets every time.” Coyner responded simply, “Jay, please stop.”
The fallout was swift and bipartisan. As reported by WSET and confirmed by 10 News, both Democrats and Republicans condemned the comments. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, stated, “After learning of these comments earlier today, I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted. 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 as the next Governor of our Commonwealth, I will always condemn violent language in our politics.” Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, echoed the sentiment, saying, “I have been very clear that political violence has no place in our country, and I condemn it at every turn. Jay must take accountability for the pain that his words have caused. We must demand better of our leaders and of each other.”
The Republican response was equally forceful. Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor and GOP nominee for governor, declared in a statement on X, “This is horrible to read and should be wholly disqualifying of someone running for an office that protects the people of Virginia. Jay Jones’ horrific comments are a symptom of the entire Democratic Party and his running mate, Abigail Spanberger, needs to call on him to drop out. Attorney General Jason Miyares has served the people of Virginia with honor and dignity, and will continue to do so come November. Jay Jones can never be Attorney General of Virginia.”
Confronted by the uproar, Jones released a public apology on Friday evening, expressing deep remorse: “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry. I have reached out to Speaker Gilbert to apologize directly to him, his wife Jennifer, and their children. I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology. Virginians deserve honest leaders who admit when they are wrong and own up to their mistakes. This was a grave mistake and I will work every day to prove to the people of Virginia that I will fight for them as Attorney General.”
This controversy wasn’t the only shadow hanging over Jones’s campaign. Just days earlier, it was reported that he faced a reckless driving charge in 2022 for driving 116 miles per hour. Dr. Dave Richards, a political expert cited by WSET, suggested that these revelations could prove decisive: “Maybe this will push that race a little closer, maybe this will give Miyares the edge over Jones when it comes down to the final count. It’s hard to say at this point. Is this a story that people will forget in the next couple weeks, or is this the start of a bigger question and a bigger problem for Jones?”
Meanwhile, the so-called “October surprise” dynamic has not been limited to the attorney general’s race. Virginia Democrats, as reported by WSET, circulated allegations against John Reid, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, accusing him of connections to a social media page that engaged with accounts promoting white power pornography and Nazi language. Virginia State Senator Adam Ebbin remarked, “This account engaged with social media accounts that promoted white power pornography and used the same language and dog whistles used by Nazis.”
Reid has strenuously denied any connection to the account, telling ABC 13, “That was an orchestrated attempt to smear my name. I’m mad as the devil about it to be honest with you, but let me tell you, Virginia is more important than my feelings.” His team dismissed the allegations as “fake news.” Hashmi, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, commented on the matter, stating, “This content and engagement with it reflects an appalling acceptance of hate and dehumanization. We all have a responsibility to call out racism and extremism when we see it — not only to protect our communities, but to build a future rooted in compassion, equity, and shared humanity.”
Dr. Richards noted that the timing of such revelations can affect their impact: “For folks who are already locked in, who are already going to support the Republicans, this is not seen as new information, and maybe even dismissed as just a smear.”
Controversy hasn’t been confined to statewide races. In Roanoke County, longtime school board member Tim Greenway, representing the Vinton District, was charged with an election-related misdemeanor stemming from paperwork errors in his candidate petitions earlier this year. According to WDBJ, the county registrar flagged issues including improperly filled affidavits and duplicate signatures. Greenway corrected and resubmitted his forms, and remains on the ballot for the November election. His attorney characterized the mistakes as unintentional and said, “Tim has taken complete responsibility for the mistakes that were on these forms. There was no question regarding the accuracy of those who then and now supported him as reflected on the forms. Tim corrected the mistake and successfully resubmitted his forms. To his great credit, he has come together and resolved this matter.”
Greenway faces a Class 1 misdemeanor charge, the most serious type in Virginia, carrying penalties of up to one year in jail or a $2,500 fine. However, the charge does not automatically disqualify him from serving in office. A hearing is scheduled for October 16, 2025, but early voting is already underway in the Vinton District.
Across the Commonwealth, these late-breaking revelations have injected a sense of unpredictability into races that were already fiercely contested. With early voting open and Election Day looming, candidates are scrambling to contain the fallout, reassure their supporters, and, for some, simply stay in the race. The next few weeks promise to test not just the political acumen, but the personal resilience of Virginia’s would-be leaders.
