Only Sen. Tim Kaine responded to the Federalist’s inquiry. Though he condemned Jones‘ words, he did not call for him to leave the race.
In response to a Federalist inquiry, not a single Democrat U.S. Senator called for the Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones to drop out of the race in light of his text messages fantasizing about assassinating Republican Todd Gilbert.
“Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones wrote, after running a hypothetical about how to allocate two bullets among Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. The 2022 text messages were first reported by National Review on Friday. According to a source cited by the outlet, Jones also “suggested he wished Gilbert’s wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views” in a follow-up phone call with a Republican state lawmaker.
The Federalist reached out to each Senate Democrat, asking if they would call for Jones to drop out of the race in light of his violent comments.
Only Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., addressed The Federalist’s inquiry. Though Kaine criticized Jones’ remarks, he also refused to call for him to drop out. “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words, and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades,” Kaine said.
