Jay Jones murder texts dominate Virginia governor debate in his hometown

Hampton Roads, Virginia – The scandal over text messages sent by Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones imagining the murder of one of his rivals has cast a pall over the state’s most high-profile race, with Gov. Winsome Earl Sears and Abigail Spanberger descending on Jones’ backyard in Hampton Roads, Virginia, for a gubernatorial contest on Thursday.

Earl Sears — who also represented nearby Virginia Beach, Va., in the state Legislature two decades ago — and Spanberger met at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., on Thursday in their only solo debate appearances.

In the discussion, hosted by Nexstar’s Hampton Roads affiliate WAVY, Earl Sears repeatedly intervened to pressure Spanberger to call on Jones to drop out of the study, and to admonish her for providing similarly indirect answers to questions about whether biological males should be able to use female restrooms.

But political allies in Jones’ hometown — most of them also at the highest levels of Virginia’s leadership — doubled down on his support for his bid to become attorney general while offering measured criticism of his life-threatening comments from former House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah.

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Virginia House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, spoke to reporters immediately after the debate as Spanberger’s official replacement.

Scott, who represents the district directly across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, denied that he was frustrated by the pressure Earl Sears put on Spanberger to ask Jones to withdraw from the study.

“It was a double standard for Spanberger,” he said. “How many times has Winsome Sears condemned the violence that Donald Trump has said over and over again?”

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“He literally said Liz Cheney should get shot in the face — I think that’s trying to make it all seem like it’s Abigail Spanberger’s business,” said Scott, who pointed out Trump’s comment during a debate in which he criticized “war hawks” — a hypocrisy in which he said the then-Wyoming congresswoman would speak differently if she were in “war zones” where neocons want to send American soldiers.

Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, waves to family in the gallery during the opening of the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly at the Capitol, Jan. 10, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helper, File)

As Speaker of the House, Earl Sears — who ceremonially presides over the Senate — was “embarrassed” by the legislature of “the oldest continuous democracy in the Western Hemisphere,” Scott said.

Liberal media downplays DEM Virginia AG scandal brimming with Jay Jones texts that fantasize about killing GOP lawmaker

“This was not the Virginia way,” he said, before blaming the media for not ceasing fire until Jones debated state Attorney General Jason Miyares at the University of Richmond Thursday.

Before the Sears-Spanberger debate, Scott traveled to Del. Carey Queener, who shared Jones’ damning transcripts with the press, calling the outrage a political diversion and urging parishioners at a house of worship to stay the course for Democrats.

Speaking from the pulpit of a majority black church in Hopewell, Virginia, Scott dismissed coverage of the Jones scandal as a distraction and urged congregants to vote for him in November.

“We need to understand something,” he said. “We have to be mature in our thinking, and how we vote cannot be distracted.”

“They want us to distract us with the text here, or something, so stay focused,” he said.

EARLE-SEARS comes out swinging in a heated discussion while Spanberger dodges questions from Jay Jones

Local reports added that Scott condemned the content of Jones’ comments before his speech at the church, describing them as “harmful, reckless and wrong.”

Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Chesapeake, represents the district just south of Jones’ former House of Delegates district, and attested to his character in a joint statement with the Senate Democrats’ political leader — whose district is across Norfolk, Va., from the embattled candidate.

“Like all Virginians, we were deeply disturbed by Jay’s comments and condemn his words without hesitation,” Lucas and Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Newport News, wrote.

He added: “Let’s be absolutely clear, there is no place for political violence or violent rhetoric in our public discourse, and Jay must take responsibility for his actions.”

But the two leaders then focused on attacking Attorney General Jason Miyares as President Donald Trump’s “pro bono attorney.”

‘Consumed by hate’: Jason Miyares burns hate on Democrat Jay Jones over violent texts

“We will not allow this moment to overshadow the stakes in this election or distract from the urgent battle we are all fighting for Virginia’s future,” they said.

“The choice before us is much bigger than this mistake. It is about the kind of leadership we need for our families, our rights, and our democracy.”

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Hampton Roads, Virginia—the collective name for cities and counties in and around Norfolk, Virginia, named for a patchwork of sea canals and rivers—is a perennial swing district, though its individual jurisdictions are reliably partisan. It is also known as the mainland anchor of the US Navy Fleet.

Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton, Virginia, tend to skew heavily Democratic, while Virginia Beach and other municipalities are more moderate, especially with a heavy right-leaning sailors.

The district’s congressional district — which includes Hampton Roads and the “Eastern Shore” on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel — is currently represented by Rep. Jennifer Keegans, R-Virginia. He leans Republican but often competes between parties every few cycles.

Before his run for attorney general and former Justice Department position in the Biden administration, Jones was a Democratic state delegate representing Norfolk, Va., where gubernatorial candidates Sears and Spanberger engaged in a raucous debate Thursday. Jones’ father and namesake held the seat from 1988-2002, while Jones Jr. held it from 2018-2022.

Jones Sr. unsuccessfully challenged Kaine for the 2001 lieutenant governor’s seat alongside Governor Mark Warner – now also Kaine’s Senate partner.

Jones Sr. died in May, and appeared to have been close to both future senators who either defended or remained silent about his son’s scandal.

In statements to Fox News Digital, Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, noted that he has known the younger Jones for “25 years.”