Virginia’s gubernatorial race has gone full meltdown mode. Now violent text messages from Jay Jones, another Democratic candidate and former state lawmaker, have surfaced, escalating things further. An August 2022 thread of messages between her and a female GOP former colleague have set off a firestorm of condemnation. This has resulted in a major blowback from political opponents and increasing calls for accountability.
Jay Jones represented the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2021. He has recently plummeted into such a controversy after taking to his social media suggesting people take violent actions towards then-Republican Todd Gilbert, who was then speaker of the chamber. In the texts, Jones said, “Gilbert gets 2 bullets in da head.” He issued this warning while drawing a strained comparison between Gilbert and well-known historical tyrants such as Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. This inflammatory language is more than just callous fence-mending. To most Americans, the attack symbolizes what is arguably the bigger story—that of increasing political violence in the United States.
Jay Jones made a public apology statement in response to those developments. At a press conference following his resignation, he said, “I take complete ownership for the choices I made.” To his credit, he acknowledged that what he said was wrong. He acknowledged that this would hurt his campaign and this might hurt his community.
“Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed and sorry. I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology.” – Jay Jones
Despite his efforts at contrition, the fallout from the texts has put Abigail Spanberger, his opponent in the gubernatorial race, on the defensive. Spanberger had once had a healthy double-digit lead in the race. Today, she must contend with how Jones’ campaign has upended her campaign and his unprecedented electoral success.
The rush and relentlessness of the criticism aimed at Jay Jones has been blistering. Jason Miyares, the Republican incumbent AG, is seeking re-election against Jones. IEEPA He sharply criticized Jones’s comments, saying that those kinds of comments are intolerable from anyone running for public office. This included strong condemnation from Republican state house member Carrie Coyner, which signaled a serious breach. She described them as “disturbing,” and found them to be “disqualifying for anyone who wishes to run for public office.”
“What he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.” – Carrie Coyner
Coyner further labeled Jones’s rhetoric as “disgusting and unbecoming of any public official,” emphasizing the need for integrity in political discourse.
Jones, the state’s first Black Governor, was savaged by Earle-Sears, Indiana Secretary of State, at a weekend Indianapolis press conference. She announced that his continued defense of Jones disqualifies him from ever holding higher office. She added that Jones’s disregard for due process shows he is willing to bury his integrity and described Jones as reckless and biased.
In recent weeks, political analysts have noted how Jones’s scandal has shifted the dynamics of the governor’s race. All of his earlier comments are now fair game. Folks are trying to figure out what this means for each candidate as voters continue to wrestle with questions of character and accountability.
Jay Jones would still like to apologize for everything he said. It will be a hard road for him to win back his constituents and party leaders’ trust. His comments have raised the ire of opponents. In doing so, they’ve raised serious questions about the tone of modern political discourse not only in Virginia, but far outside its borders.