VA AG candidate Jay Jones faces backlash over violent rhetoric against political opponents.
Saturday’s tabs work hard for a living .
NEW: VA Democrat AG nominee Jay Jones allegedly once fantasized about shooting House Speaker Todd Gilbert in the head and „pissing“ on his grave.
Jones was upset that Republicans were eulogizing recently deceased former state legislator Joe Johnson.
„I will go to their funerals… pic.twitter.com/Qp0ZTIgUEj— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 3, 2025
Ed: Hmmm. Smells like stochastic terrorism to me. Remember when the Left claimed policy dissent was stochastic terrorism? I’d say that sending messages about actual murder fantasies against one’s political opponents come a lot closer to that mark.
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National Review: Jones then suggested that, presented with a hypothetical situation in which he had only two bullets and was faced with the choice of murdering then-Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert or two dictators, he’d shoot Gilbert “every time,” prompting pushback from his former colleague .
The private messages offer a disturbing glimpse into how Jones — who is looking to oust incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares this fall — describes his political adversaries in private conversations. The violent rhetoric complicates an already contentious and competitive race roughly a month out from Election Day in Virginia, where early voting began on September 19.
Ed: It should do a lot more than „complicate“ it, especially after the political violence erupting on the Left over the last year-plus. It should disqualify Jones (politically speaking) from office, especially as the top law enforcement officer for the commonwealth of Virginia. That shouldn’t even be a close call — and yet .
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Jay Jones literally fantasized about killing a man and two children and Abigail Spanberger still doesn’t have the guts to tell him to drop out. pic.twitter.com/8CAjNqqWBI— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) October 3, 2025
Ed: I’d love to think that the Jones scandal will bleed into the gubernatorial race. Maybe it will, but I suspect that voters will reject Jones in the AG race and not consider Spanberger responsible for his despicable statements. If the parties were reversed, however, the Protection Racket Media would hound Spanberger day and night to ask whether she endorsed Jones‘ candidacy and supported his messaging. They’d Akinize her into oblivion if Spanberger were the Republican.
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Politico: Still, now-GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s victory four years ago over former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe was considered an upset, and one that rocketed him to the forefront of the Republican Party. Winning a gubernatorial election in Virginia could be the path to national stardom; Youngkin mulled a 2024 presidential bid before ultimately opting not to run, and is considered a potential 2028 contender.
Democrats have generally led in public polling for all three of the statewide elections in November: governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Now, both Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanberger’s opponent in November, and Youngkin have pressured Spanberger to urge Jones to exit the race.
“There is no ‘gosh, I’m sorry’ here,” Youngkin said in a post Saturday. “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.”
Ed: This is still the right strategy to use, even if it may not bear much fruit. I’m glad to see Youngkin get out in front of this.