Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares reacted to his opponent in the 2025 race, Jay Jones, calling for the death of a former state official, blasting the comments as “disqualifying.”
Leaked text messages from 2022 show Jones called for former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to be shot and wished violence on his children. Miyares, along with many other Republican officials, is now calling for Jones to drop out of the race.
“With the recent revelations, it’s clear Jay Jones has shown he’s reckless, biased, and willing to trade away his integrity, disqualifying himself from ever serving as Attorney General,” Miyares said on Saturday night. “Jay Jones wished for the violent death of a political opponent and then fantasized about that opponent’s children dying in their mother’s arms.”
“Prior to this week, this race was about competing views on public safety. Now it’s about basic fitness for public office,” he added.
Jones is running against Miyares for attorney general in Virginia.
The text messages reveal Jones said he would rather shoot former Republican Virginia House Speaker Dan Gilbert over dictators Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot.
Jones went on to say he believes Gilbert and his wife are “breeding little fascists.”
“This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) posted on X.
“There is no ‘gosh, I’m sorry’ here. Jones doesn’t have the morality or character to drop out of this race, and his running mates Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and every elected Democrat in Virginia don’t have the courage to call on him to step away from this campaign in disgrace,” Youngkin added.
Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for governor, said she spoke to Jones about the text messages but stopped short of calling for him to drop out of the race.
“I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted,” Spanberger wrote in a statement. “I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words.”
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is the Republican gubernatorial nominee, blasted Spanberger for her response.
“Jay Jones literally fantasized about killing a man and two children and Abigail Spanberger still doesn’t have the guts to tell him to drop out,” Earle-Sears said.
Earle-Sears went a step further to call for Spanberger to be disqualified for office.
“The unstable pull the triggers but they are inspired by the hate tolerated and encouraged by the leadership of the Democrat Party,” Earle-Sears said during a press conference on Saturday night. “So it is not enough for Jay Jones to drop out of the race. Let me be clear, Spanberger’s continuing support for Jay Jones is also disqualifying her for office. ‘Let your rage fuel you,’ remember, Abigail said. She and her party’s irresponsible behavior have brought us to this point.”
Jones has apologized, saying he takes “full responsibility” for his comments and that he reached out to Gilbert to apologize to him and his family.
Jones could still get votes even if he drops out of the race since ballots have been printed and early voting has already started.
A recent poll from Christopher Newport University shows Jones leading Miyares by 7 points. But as voting continues through Nov. 4, the scandal could have a major impact on the election.
