Jay Jones, Virginia Democratic candidate for attorney general, has come under intense fire from conservative media outlets and Virginia Republicans since The National Review published text messages he sent in 2022 in which he fantasized about the violent deaths of former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) and his children.
Jones’s remarks are particularly chilling in light of last month’s political assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Numerous Republicans have called on Jones to withdraw from the race. President Donald Trump took aim at Jones in a weekend post on Truth Social:
It has just come out that the Radical Left Lunatic, Jay Jones, who is running against Jason Miyares, the GREAT Attorney General in Virginia, made SICK and DEMENTED jokes, if they were jokes at all, which were not funny, and that he wrote down and sent around to people, concerning the murdering of a Republican Legislator, his wife, and their children. Abigail Spanberger, who is running for Governor, is weak and ineffective, and refuses to acknowledge what this Lunatic has done. Even Democrats are saying it is “RESIGNATION FROM CAMPAIGN” TERRITORY. 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!
But, so far, Democrats have stood by their candidate. Though many admitted the messages were violent and disturbing, few considered them sufficient grounds for Jones to drop out of the race.
If you rely on liberal-leaning media outlets for your news, you may not have heard this story at all. A Media Research Center analysis released Tuesday found that ABC, CBS, and PBS provided no coverage, while NBC devoted just 63 seconds to the controversy.
Nevertheless, in a sign that Jones may not be able to weather this storm, sources told Axios that his campaign has canceled a fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night at the home of novelist David Baldacci.
Axios reported:
The scrubbed fundraiser is another indication that Jones’ campaign is in crisis mode….Jones had not held a public event since Friday night, when he answered questions from Tyler Englander at the Richmond ABC affiliate. “The rhetoric has no place on our landscape,” he said.Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) was also scheduled to attend the Thursday night fundraiser. Kaine told reporters on Tuesday that he is “still a supporter,” while calling Jones’ comments “indefensible.” He also noted that “Jay has apologized.”Democratic donors received a memo from the Jones campaign that their donations would be refunded for the canceled fundraising, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Early in-person voting for the Virginia general election began on September 19, nearly three weeks ago. Axios notes that at this late date, “many Democrats don’t think that convincing Jones to drop out is a viable option.”
Although it’s unclear why Jones canceled the fundraiser, it certainly does not bode well for his campaign.
A Christopher Newport University poll released in late September (before the scandal erupted) showed Jones ahead of his opponent, current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares 49% to 43%.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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