Democratic Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones on Monday sought to revive his campaign by launching his first ad buy since becoming the subject of national controversy due to violent text messages he sent.
Just weeks before voters head to the polls, Jones highlighted his Republican rival’s ties to President Donald Trump in the 30-second video, arguing that incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares has “cheered on” the president on a number of issues he framed as damaging to Virginians.
“No one has done more for Trump in Virginia than Jason Miyares,” a narrator says in the video. “Workers fired, prices soaring, health care slashed. And Jason Miyares cheers them on, even pushing for a Virginia abortion ban.”
The six-figure, statewide ad buy targeting Miyares follows Jones’s drop in the polls after the Democratic candidate faced sweeping scrutiny for text messages he sent in 2022 calling for then-Republican state House Speaker Todd Gilbert to receive “two bullets to the head.”
Jones has since apologized for the messages, in which he also said Gilbert and his wife were “breeding little fascists” and appeared to suggest he hoped their children “would die.”
However, the controversy took a toll on his campaign, as Republicans jumped on the scandal to argue Jones is an inappropriate candidate to be Virginia’s next attorney general.
Trump called Jones an “animal that wanted to kill somebody” on Sunday during comments to reporters aboard Air Force One.
“He’s a third-rate intellect, he’s a guy who — I’ve never seen anybody say what he said, that he wanted to kill his opponent’s children — he wanted to kill his opponent,” Trump said. “I can’t imagine anybody voting for Jay Jones. Look, you would think he’s totally discredited. I would think he wouldn’t even be allowed to do that; anybody would be put in prison for what he said.”
The Hill’s latest Decision Desk HQ polling average released last week showed Jones and Miyares tied with 46.4% support.
OBAMA HOPES TO BOOST SPANBERGER WITH ENDORSEMENT AS CAMPAIGN BLEEDS OVER JAY JONES TEXTS
Two other polls from the Trafalgar Group and Republican Attorneys General Association show Miyares leading his Democratic rival. The Trafalgar Group polling showed support for Jones slipped from 48.8% in early October to 43.1%.
The Jones campaign has highlighted internal polling showing him leading Miyares by 1 percentage point.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said Miyares had apologized for the text messages. It should have said Jones. The Washington Examiner has corrected the text and regrets the error.
