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Former Virginia state delegate Jay Jones' growing scandal over messages predicting the murder of a Republican lawmaker and his young “fascist” children is expected to dominate Thursday's attorney general's debate at the University of Richmond.
The tentacles of the scandal have already reached far beyond the Spiders' home, as President Donald Trump and Republican leaders across the country have latched on to messages from Jones, D-Norfolk, and the muted response from his Democratic colleagues.
The most recent Fox News-approved poll, conducted by Christopher Newport University on Oct. 3 before the scandal broke, showed Jones leading Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares by six points, while other Democrats on the state ticket enjoyed similar margins.
But anecdotal evidence points to an increasingly tight race, as Miyares has largely put the three-seat Republican nomination on his shoulders as Jones' campaign falters.
JOE SCARBOROUGH TELLS DEMIST CANDIDATE JAY JONES TO QUIT RACE OVER VIOLENT COMMENTS AGAINST GOP LEGISLATOR
Virginia Attorney General Candidates Jay Jones and Jason Miyares (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears criticized Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger on the issue in their own debate last week in Norfolk, repeatedly asking whether Jones should withdraw from the race.
Spanberger declined to call for her resignation, saying voters should decide, but several voters in the Shenandoah Valley told Fox News Digital they were disappointed she didn't take a stronger stance.
Jones' fellow Democrats have been silent or vaguely supportive of the embattled former Justice Department staffer in the Biden administration continuing his candidacy, even as polls and public sentiment suggest his troubles could topple the rest of the Democratic ticket.
Top Democrats back Jones despite backlash
Incumbent Virginia House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, was defiant when he addressed the media after the gubernatorial debate, comparing and contrasting the situation with Trump's own words about Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney facing gun barrels in one of the war zones where they espoused their neoconservative positions.
Senate President L. Louise Lucas (D-Norfolk) and caucus campaign manager Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) later issued a joint statement backing Jones and warning that keeping Miyares in office would be worse.
Meanwhile, Earle-Sears has a similar hold on the Republican base as Youngkin did, but continues to trail Spanberger in recent polls. Miyares, however, has now closed the gap or slightly surpassed Jones, which experts say may help reduce Democratic turnout across the ticket.
LIBERAL MEDIA MINUTIFIES DEM VIRGINIA AG SCANDAL JAY JONES' HOPEFUL TEXTS FANTASIZING THE MURDER OF A GOP LEGISLATOR
Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid recently posted on social media that he had reportedly come within one or two points of his rival, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, although the poll numbers he was referring to were not immediately verifiable.
Taken together, these signs suggest an increasingly tight statewide race in an increasingly progressive community.
Virginia's political unrest shifts again
In 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin won a surprise victory in the parental rights outrage over transgender athletes in school sports. Since then, Earle-Sears has championed that same issue while also criticizing Democrats for their silence or ambivalence about Jones remaining in the race.
Youngkin's upset of Terry McAuliffe was an outlier compared to other recent races in Virginia, notably Republican military veteran Hung Cao's 20-point loss to Sen. Tim Kaine in the 2024 midterms. Kamala Harris also defeated Trump that year.
A decade ago, Republicans still had some presence in densely populated northern Virginia. Then-Prince William County President Corey Stewart, considered a staunch conservative, unsuccessfully sought state office but remained in the suburban county's leadership for many years.
While he currently opposes Trump's brand of Republicanism, then-Rep. Barbara Comstock, was a popular official in the now progressive Loudoun County area. Del. Geary Higgins, R-Lovettsville, remains the only Republican delegate in the once red county west of Washington. Although he also faces a tough road against Warrenton innkeeper John McAuliff in the November contest.
YOUNGKIN SAYS DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE AG JAY JONES SHOULD 'DEPART IN DISGRACE' OVER TEXTS ABOUT FORMER GOP LEADER
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin addresses the crowd during an early voting rally on September 21, 2023 in Petersburg, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
During his campaign, Youngkin made repeated trips to southwest Virginia to increase margins in Republican strongholds and increase turnout, a strategy that, combined with the support of concerned parents in the Democratic-leaning suburbs of northern Virginia, helped secure his victory.
Jones' texts revealed
In messages first reported earlier this month, Jones texted Rep. Carrie Coyner, R-Hopewell, in 2022, imagining a scenario in which she would choose to “fire two bullets” into the head of then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, describing Gilbert as worse than dictators Pol Pot or Adolf Hitler.
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Jones also referred to Gilbert's young children as “fascists” in the exchange.
The revelations have drawn bipartisan condemnation, although Democratic leaders have so far resisted calls, including from Youngkin, for Jones to withdraw from the race.
