Democratic Virginia attorney general nominee Jay Jones came out of relative seclusion on Thursday night, if just because it was required of him. It didn’t go well.
In a debate performance that could have only gone worse had he sent Joe Biden in his stead, Jones was dressed down by incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares for his violent text messages and troubled past — including a reckless driving violation — arguing that if he were to apply for a job as a regular prosecutor in a small jurisdiction, “you would not pass the background check.”
Jones has been on the defensive since National Review first reported on Oct. 3 about his past text messages. The messages, which date from shortly after Jones resigned from the state legislature in 2022, called Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert a “POS” who should die along with his children.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” he said in one message.
He also said he hoped the couple’s children would die, saying that it was “only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
“I mean do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil? And that they’re breeding little fascists? Yes,” he said, referencing the politician’s wife and their kids.
Further reports indicated that he’d also said a few cops should get killed, too, so as to bring about criminal justice reform — along with a more public, but equally checkered, history that had already weighed his campaign down a bit. Suffice it to say, what was once a substantial lead for Jones has evaporated, with The Hill reporting that three recent polls show Miyares now leading Jones, albeit within the margin of error. (However, as of Wednesday, the Decision Desk HQ polling aggregate showed both tied at 46.4 percent.)
So, Thursday was pretty important for Jones — and he tried to be contrite upfront, with the same sorta-kinda apology he’d trotted out before. But he reminded everyone who was really the bad guy here: Donald Trump!
“Let me be very clear: I am ashamed, I am embarrassed and I am sorry. I am sorry to Speaker Gilbert, I am sorry to his family, and I am sorry to every single Virginian,” he said in his opening statements, The Hill noted.
Should Jay Jones leave the race?
Later, when asked about it directly by the moderator: “I was held accountable by my party and I deeply, deeply respect that,” Jones said. “But what about when Donald Trump used incendiary language to incite a riot to try to overturn an election here in this country?”
Sure. Whatever. As Miyares pointed out, between the texts and a prior conviction Jones had for reckless driving, he was unfit for prosecutorial office even at lower levels, and certainly wasn’t qualified to be attorney general.
Miyares pointed out that not only did Jones not get a jail sentence for the reckless driving charge, which involved him going 116 miles per hour, like the other three people in court that day for similar charges did, but that he misled the court about the nature of the “community service” he performed instead: “It was done for his own political action committee,” Miyares noted.
“And the reality, Jay, is that your text messages, that advocated for violence against innocent children — Jay, if you were to apply to be a line prosecutor, not just in my office, but any attorney general’s office in the country, you would not pass a background check.”
Republican Virginia AG Jason Miyares blasts Democrat Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones over the special treatment he got for his reckless driving charge
He notes that Jones’ background is so shady he would not pass a background check pic.twitter.com/rFlEpVU81z
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 16, 2025
This would be bad enough if it were a case of “rules for thee, not for me.” The problem is, it’s not — which Jones has amply demonstrated. This is the kind of “justice” he wants to bring to the commonwealth of Virginia:
🚨Virginia AG candidate Jason Miyares EXPOSES Jay Jones’ soft-on-crime record:
“Jay Jones is a criminal first, victim last politician. We know it from his own voting record.” pic.twitter.com/ZJiITL576d
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 16, 2025
One is almost halfway surprised — given how much Jones tried to pin on Trump Thursday night — that he didn’t try to ascribe his voting record, along with his text messages and reckless driving conviction, to the commander-in-chief as well.
After Thursday, it became even more amazing that Democrats won’t disavow Jones. There was no convincing contrition — although, indeed, there could be no such thing short of him exiting the race. However, the texts already had his campaign in crisis mode. The polls, which should have favored Jones bigly (and indeed all statewide Democrats; the trend in Virginia’s off-year statewide contests is for the party that lost the White House to win bigly) have turned against him. He needed some kind of off-the-charts performance to stay close in the race.
His attempt at turning the tide? Sure, I’m sorry, in the same limp way you’ve heard me say sorry before. But what about that Donald Trump, hmm?
The left already owns this disaster, but it could get worse: If Virginia Democrats manage to get this man across the line and make him the state’s top prosecutor, they have only themselves to blame for reinforcing the image that they’re a party which actively encourages violence, hate, and criminality.
“We have seen a window to who Jay Jones is and the way he thinks of people who disagree with him,” Miyares said during the debate. The same, sadly, can be said of the party that continues to stand by him.
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