Abigail Spanberger Refuses to Withdraw Support of Jay Jones Over Violent Texts Scandal
“The voters now have the information, and it is up to voters to make an individual choice based on this information”
During a debate last night, Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor in Virginia, was given an opportunity to retract her endorsement of fellow Democrat Jay Jones, the attorney general candidate who has come under fire over his violent texts about a Republican colleague and his children. She refused to do so.
Spanberger tried to kick the can down the road, saying it’s now up to voters. To the debate moderator’s credit, she pressed her on the issue, but Spanberger would not provide a simple response and did not withdraw her support for Jones.
Politico reports:
Spanberger and Earle-Sears tussle over violent political rhetoric in only debate
Democrat Abigail Spanberger passed on a chance to use one of the most high-profile moments of her run for Virginia governor to withdraw her endorsement for her party’s attorney general nominee for his use of violent rhetoric in a text message.
The subject of Jay Jones’ violent message from three years ago emerged immediately as the Democrat faced Republican Winsome Earle-Sears on Thursday in the only planned debate of the closely watched race.
Spanberger condemned the text as “abhorrent” but repeatedly declined to say whether she would withdraw her support for Jones, saying it should be left to the voters in the Nov. 5 election.
“The voters now have the information, and it is up to voters to make an individual choice based on this information,” she said.
Jones suggested the former Republican House speaker should get “two bullets to the head.” He has apologized for the text, which became public last week amid rising fears of political violence following a string of incidents, including the killing of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 and the attack on Minnesota lawmakers in June.
Watch this:
🚨 Astonishing debate moment as Abigail Spanberger gets confronted about whether or not she continues to endorse Jay Jones. Her answer’s so bad even the moderator can’t tell her response.
pic.twitter.com/aPPvJkbVlh— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 9, 2025
The country has changed and Democrats refuse to acknowledge this fact. In a little over a year, Charlie Kirk was assassinated and there were two attempts on Trump’s life. We are not putting up with the violent rhetoric anymore. Spanberger’s response wasn’t even close to appropriate.
In another moment from the debate, Spanberger refused to clearly answer when asked about men and boys in girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. Republican Winsome Sears has been hammering Spanberger on this issue and this is why. Watch:
Here's the exchange where Abigail Spanberger is unable to simply say that men should not be allowed to change in the same locker rooms as girls.
DISQUALIFYING.pic.twitter.com/nWXpTZ5yld
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 10, 2025
This race has been tightening for weeks, but I expect this debate to change the dynamic of the race. Winsome Sears seemed more prepared and appeared more solid as a candidate.
Featured image via Twitter/X video.
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Comments
The point of party is that everybody votes the same way, at the moment, to maintain whatever slight edge one party or the other has. There’s nothing personally disqualifying that comes into it.
Reagan said, ” Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”
So, yes, there is conventional wisdom behind her position. Further, every election this fall is essentially a referendum on Trump and his policies. Add to that the fact that 30% of the electorate saying that political violence may be a necessary thing, and I suspect that TDS will override any moral repugnance over his rhetoric.
She won’t be hurt at all, and he won’t suffer much. A Republican would have to withdraw but a Democrat?
Reagan was wrong.
I agree with you. Party loyalty is for people who can’t think for themselves. They see the D or they are and they write away click to vote for that candidate without even giving it a second thought. That’s how we ended up with people like George Bush.
There’s a difference between not speaking ill of a fellow Republican, and refusing to condemn someone who wants two bullets in the head of his political opponents, and for their children to die in the arms of their mothers.
By degree yes but conceptually no, Any politician who puts party over principal does not get my support or my vote. this doesn’t mean they should speak ill of someone because they are running against them (cough – Trump), but it does mean they should call out bad actions and when appropriate bad principals.
The Latest University Reseach release says that the More Liberal someone is the more they support Violence against their political opponents. Extreme Liberals are the most likely to support it. Extreme Conservatives are the least likely to support it.
Extreme Liberals are 6 TIMES more likely to support violence against opponents than Extreme Conservatives.
lol! “Nothing personally disqualifying…”???!!!! So……all those Nazi party members in Germany circa 1941-45 who didn’t support ridding Germany of Hitler…. Nothing disqualifying there, eh??!! To be expected by you.
I hope that debate was watched by all adult voters in Virginia. Those arrogant non-responses to the Joe Jones ‘let’s kill them and gloat watching their daughters die in their mothers arms’ and ‘adult men seeking sexual gratification in girls locker rooms is fine’ debacle will likely result in the Rs keeping the governors office (we hope).
In a parliamentary system sure. We don’t have such a system in the USA in part b/c the Founders understood the dangers of it.
Spanberger instead is relying on “We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics.”
By the way, Google Search has 100s of links to stories claiming that quote was taken out of context, and your eyes really didn’t see Joe Biden clearly make that statement in any context at all.
I do t like it when Sears repeatedly interrupts
Dos she ever get a chance to actually attack the idiot Dem on her own time?
Virginia–do the right thing. Winsome Sears.
applaud them
they know who their warrior leaders are
crookett omar jay jones etc
the more violence they can do to us ( LIKE 2020) the more the know they will get a % of the vote that wants to coddle them so they (believe) they will be spared …and for a while they will be as they come after us
Spanberger is just another in a series of Democrat politicians being placed on ballots because of their gender/skin color/sexual orientation and not because they’re the best person for the job.
Sears is clearly – clearly – the superior candidate irrespective of her race.
Spanberger might hang on and win, but it’s perfectly clear that she’s a political invertebrate and will cause lasting harm to Virginia.
A bizarre take, but not objectively wrong.
I watched several cuts of the debate from last night and it was a total train wreck for Spanberger. She was so evasive in several answers the moderator had to ask her the same thing several times and she still refused to answer. She refused to look at Sears and it was just boilerplate Kamala Harris non answers no matter the question. There is a reason Spanberger put off a debate with Sears until after early voting started and her performance last night was it.
Spanberger is yet another progressive female putting party before the people she wants to govern. She it telling you who she is by not repudiating Jones. Anyone who votes for her is telling you who they are, Not a pretty picture by any means.
she bears a striking resemblance to the women that thought up that Bud Lite commercial and the new “look” for Cracker Barrel
Did anyone else notice the mocking pout expression on her face in the picture at the top of the article? I’ve seen women do that and I really can’t stand it.
She actually looks like a man with long hair. I shudder to think what she looks like without the 10 pounds of makeup she no doubt has toweled onto her face,
Liberal white lady cannot criticize the bLACK man.
When the d/prog candidate for Gov won’t move to a position of neutrality at minimum on a candidate for AG who wished death on his political opposition and their children they are telling us who they are and what they believe. Every d/prog candidate for office who doesn’t explicitly condemn this guy and refuse to support him is de facto joined at the hip in approval of the violence.
Spanberger is another Kamala that can’t go off script.
Shes managed but I’ll admit she is well managed. I hope VA can hold her off because she sucks and Winsome is based.
They did some kind of poll among Demmocrats asking if their AG candidates call for murder of a man and his kids were disqualifying and 93% said NO.
https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1976707872424968429
The clear strategy when not wanting to directly answer the question is to obfuscate by talking around it and hoping that no one notices. It is clear that she is not disavowing her fellow on the Democratic ticket for attorney general and that yes, she would immediately upon taking office rescind the governor’s order to restrict access to school restrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex. That she will not directly answer is a clear indication that she knows her position is unpopular but still thinks it correct. Voters beware.