The campaign of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is spending $1.5 million on an ad campaign highlighting disturbing, violent texts from his Democratic opponent, Jay Jones.
Texts first obtained and published by the National Review on Friday, and later confirmed by Jones, featured Jones sharing violent fantasies about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, saying he wished he could murder him. He also wished death upon his two young children, whom he dubbed “little fascists.” Miyares’s campaign is now broadcasting the messages around Virginia as part of an ad campaign ahead of next month’s election.
“The Washington Post confirms: Jay Jones sent texts that imagined shooting the Republican Speaker of the House,” a narrator says in the ad as the messages were displayed on screen. “It’s so disgusting, but it’s true.”
The ad displayed the plethora of news outlets reporting on and confirming the messages.
“Jay Jones confirmed that he hoped an opponent’s children could die to advance his political agenda,” the narrator says. “Can you trust Jay Jones to protect your children?”
In an interview with WAVY, Miyares said the messages should be disqualifying.
“I thought the fact that he said what he said, in my opinion, is disqualifying, particularly in this era of political violence,” he said. “My job as attorney general is to stop violence.”
Miyares said he did not accept an apology from Jones.
“He apologized now, two years after the fact … and he said it is only through pain that policy changes occur,” he added. “Now, the idea that you think pain is what changes policy, I don’t think that’s acceptable in the public arena.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) agreed, saying the “violent, disgusting rhetoric” was “beyond disqualifying.”
“There is no ‘Gosh, I’m sorry,’ here,” Youngkin said. “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.”
Jones has apologized but refused to back out of the race.
MIYARES CALLS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL OPPONENT JAY JONES TO DROP OUT OVER VIOLENT TEXT MESSAGES
“Like all people, I’ve sent text messages that I regret, and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Jones said, going on to say the race was about President Donald Trump.
Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and a growing number of Democratic figures have called on Jones to drop out. Virginia Democrats have stood by him.