Leaked texts put spotlight on Virginia attorney general debate
Virginia plays host Thursday night to a pivotal debate in the state’s attorney general race between incumbent Republican Jason Miyares and Democratic candidate Jay Jones, whose leaked texts about shooting a Republican lawmaker have jeopardized his standing in the race.
Jones has apologized for the texts, sent in 2022, in which he said “three people, two bullets” and if given the choice between Hitler, Pol Pot and former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R), Gilbert would get “two bullets.”
Republicans have demanded Jones drop out of the race while seeking to connect him to other Democrats, including the party’s gubernatorial nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger. Democrats have stuck with Jones, though Spanberger and others have criticized the texts.
Thursday’s forum at the University of Richmond gives Miyares a chance to go after Jones on the issue face-to-face, while it also presents Jones with his biggest opportunity yet to explain himself to voters.
Besides the “two bullets” reference, Jones also said it would take Gilbert’s wife “holding their dying children in her arms” for Gilbert to move on gun control.
Both sets of remarks have been vilified by Republicans already at an uproar over violence on the left after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Before apologizing, in a statement and in an interview with WRIC in Richmond, which is owned by The Hill’s parent company Nexstar Media Group, Jones issued a statement accusing Miyares of “dropping smears through Trump-controlled media organizations.” That statement received widespread criticism.
Virginia Republicans have used the controversy to boost their candidates across the board, including Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP’s nominee against Spanberger.
Republicans outside of Virginia have seized on the scandal as well. President Trump took to Truth Social to attack Jones and endorse Miyares after the texts surfaced.
Jones was invoked again Tuesday by high-profile Republicans after Politico reported a leaked group chat from members of the Young Republican Federation that featured racist, antisemitic and violent discussions.
Vice President Vance said in a post on social platform X that Jones’s text messages were “far worse” than in the GOP group chat, while Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) argued in her own X post that Republicans have “rightfully condemned” the group chat messages, while Democrats have “doubled down” in their support of Jones.
“It is alarming to see any Democrat who has avoided weighing in on Jay Jones, try to engage on this Politico story, in part, because Jay Jones is running for attorney general of the commonwealth of Virginia,” said Matt Whitlock, a Virginia based GOP strategist.
On Wednesday, the Virginia Democratic Party rolled out a statement saying, “Sears must call on all young Republicans implicated in racist text scandal to step down from their positions.” The state party cited a member of Virginia Young Republicans condemning the group chat.
Miyares has the most to gain from Jones’s texting controversy, not only because he is Jones’s direct opponent, but because the attorney general race has been the closest of the state’s top three races this cycle.
The Hill’s partners at Decision Desk HQ updated their polling average to show Jones and Miyares tied at 46.4 percent following the release of three internal polls.
While Miyares narrowly trailed Jones in polling prior to the texting scandal, the incumbent has consistently held a fundraising advantage. According to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, Miyares has raised more than $13 million and has $7 million in the bank. Jones has brought in nearly $9 million during the campaign and has more than $3 million cash-on-hand.
Republicans say they are growing optimistic about a possibility Virginia voters will split their tickets in the governor and attorney general races, something Virginia has not seen since 2005.
“This would be the best opportunity we’ve seen in recent decades for that kind of break,” Whitlock said. “This is the most jarring October surprise I think we’ve seen in recent decades.”
An advantage for Jones and Spanberger this year is that they are running a year after Trump was elected president. Trump lost Virginia in the 2024 presidential race, and his attacks on the federal workforce are unlikely to endear GOP candidates to voters in Northern Virginia.
Jones and Democrats have sought to frame the race as a referendum of sorts on Trump, arguing that Miyares would be a rubber stamp for the administration regardless of who is in the governor’s mansion.
“This debate is an opportunity for voters to hear exactly how Jason Miyares has failed them as AG [attorney general]. We know Jay will hold MAGA Miyares’ feet to the fire on everything from refusing to take a stand to protect Virginians from Donald Trump’s government shutdown while their paychecks and health care are at risk to failing to push back against Trump’s unconstitutional federal overreach that has left Virginia uniquely vulnerable,” said Carolyn Fiddler, communications director at the Democratic Attorneys General Association.
Like other Virginia Democrats, Jones and his campaign have worked to tie Virginia Republicans to the federal layoffs.
“Instead of standing up and defending Virginians whose livelihoods, paychecks, and healthcare are at risk, AG Jason Miyares still doesn’t have a plan to protect them,” Jones’s campaign said in a press release Wednesday.
For Jones, the last two weeks have been made up of attacks from Republicans and continued coverage of the scandal in the news media. Thursday’s forum will give him the chance to not only further explain himself over the texts, but also force Miyares to explain his own ties to Trump in a state where the president’s approval rating is underwater.
And unlike most state attorney general debates, the forum will likely attract a larger audience than normal in and out of Virginia.
“This will probably be the most watched attorney general debate we see this cycle or in recent cycles because of how much attention this crazy October surprise has gotten,” Whitlock said.