Republican AGs double funding in Virginia after Dem nominees violent texts

First on Fox: A major Virginia election fundraising group has doubled its investment in the state’s attorney general’s race after revelations of violent text messages from Democrat Jay Jones, a sign that the controversy could have tangible effects on his candidacy.

The Republican Attorneys General Association invested $2.5 million in incumbent Republican candidate Jason Miyares on Friday, after losing $2 million in the race earlier this week, Fox News Digital has learned. These numbers bring the group’s total contributions to Miyares to a historic amount of $8.5 million.

Spokesman Adam Piper said the texting incident sparked new interest from donors, allowing the group to increase its investment in the race.

Youngkin presses Democrats to push Jay Jones from Virginia AG ticket after ‘beyond exclusion’ letters surface

The Republican Attorneys General Association was “interested” in Miyares from the beginning, but the text messages “completely changed the dynamics” of the race, said Piper, the group’s executive director.

“Jason Miyares is surging in the polls, and new donations have flooded RAGA’s millions, allowing us to double our investment in Virginia over the past week,” Piper told Fox News Digital.

The group has outspent all other political committees up and down the gubernatorial race ticket, according to the latest data from the Virginia Public Access Project. It also broke its previous record of $7 million, which it spent on its attorney general nominee in 2017.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS issues ‘two bullets’ ad in scathing opposition to failure to call for Jay Jones’ ouster

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares speaks during a campaign event. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The occurrence of low-priced donations that have overwhelmed donations to the governor’s race comes after Jones, a lawyer and former state delegate, fantasized in newly surfaced texts from 2022 about the violent death of a Republican lawmaker.

The GOP Attorneys General’s group this week released an internal Cygnal poll conducted Oct. 6-7, which found a sharp 21-point drop in Jones’ favorability compared to last month. The poll showed Miyares leading Jones by two points one month before Election Day.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Democrat of Virginia, speaks during an interview at her congressional offices in Washington, February 8, 2023. Spanberger is running for governor of Virginia. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

At the top of the list, recent polls show Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger leading Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl Sears by about ten points while the attorney general’s race is a little tighter.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

With early voting in full swing, it is unclear how much Jones’ texts will hurt his and other Democratic candidates’ chances of winning in a blue-leaning state. Jones has apologized for the text messages but still faces backlash for them.

In addition to new fundraising headwinds, Jones has faced widespread calls by Republicans to withdraw from the race amid growing national concern about political violence. Democrats, including Spanberger, have disavowed the texts but stopped short of asking Jones to withdraw.