You almost have to wonder if Jay Jones knows his campaign is finished, but he has to at least give the appearance of still fighting to win. I’m not sure how else to describe his debate performance against Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Thursday evening. What we saw from Jones wasn’t leadership, conviction, or even coherence. It was panic, denial, and self-inflicted disaster.
Miyares came into the debate with confidence, and for good reason. His opponent was already severely wounded from his text message scandal, where Jones expressed in text messages back in 2022, while he was a sitting legislator, that he wished death upon then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family, including hopes that Gilbert’s children would be “shot and killed” to change his views on gun control.
Around the same time, Jones allegedly said he hoped more police officers would die. Such comments are disqualifying, yet he has refused to drop out of the race for Virginia’s top law enforcement officer. No Democrats in Virginia or in Congress have called on him to do so either.
Miyares didn’t let that hypocrisy slide. At one point in the debate, the Republican incumbent turned directly to Jones and asked the question that will likely define this race: “I find it stunning that you say one of the pillars of your public safety platform is protecting children. Were you protecting Jennifer’s children when you said you wanted to see them die in their mother’s arms?”
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Virginia Attorney General candidate Jason Miyares (R) PUMMELS political violence Jay Jones (D) during the debate...that is devastating.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025
"I find it stunning that you say one of the pillars of your public safety platform is protecting children. Were you protecting… pic.twitter.com/XWoD9TeC5Z
You could hear the oxygen leave the room. Jones stood there, visibly rattled, unable to find his footing.
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Miyares then issued the moral verdict most Virginians were probably already thinking: someone who has publicly fantasized about the deaths of political opponents and police officers cannot credibly lead a state’s justice system. In what universe could they? He said that if Jones had any genuine remorse, he’d drop out of the race immediately, and he’s right. The problem, of course, is that it’s too late in the race to change candidates, so Democrats have no choice but to go all-in supporting him.
Meanwhile, Jones tried to deflect by invoking President Donald Trump.
Over and over and over.
🚨 BREAKING: In a pathetic development, pro-political violence Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones (D) reportedly mentioned President Donald Trump's name 30 to 40 times across tonight's 60-minute debate pic.twitter.com/xlOePtlD6D
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025
Jones apparently believes that saying “Trump” enough times would make voters forget that he once wished harm on children. Based on social media reports, he mentioned Trump roughly thirty to forty times during the one-hour debate, an almost comical obsession.
Earlier this month, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger also had a bad night. She couldn’t even answer the simplest moral test; she repeatedly refused to say whether she still endorses Jones after those violent, extremist text messages came to light. Rather than take a stand, she apologized, pivoted into procedural attacks, and blamed “those who released” the texts for “withholding” them. That evasiveness rather than firmness or principle laid bare a party more interested in protecting itself than in standing for anything.
For years, conservatives have warned of a moral rot festering on the left: a culture that justifies threats, riots, and dehumanizing attacks whenever they serve its political agenda. The debates made that rot impossible to ignore.
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