Barack Obama formally endorsed Abigail Spanberger last month in a video. It wasn’t exactly a shock, but the media sure made a big deal about it. Her campaign had certainly taken a hit because of the Jay Jones scandal, so the timing made perfect sense in that context. But, when Obama rolled into Virginia Saturday to campaign for Abigail Spanberger, you had to wonder what exactly he was doing there. Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, holds a comfortable lead over Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in multiple polls, leading by 7.6 points in the RealClearPolitics average.
So why would Obama bother showing up for what looks like a done deal?
The answer is obvious: He’s not there to help Spanberger. He’s there to help salvage what's left of the Democratic ticket, specifically the embattled Jay Jones, who's running for attorney general.
Jones was supposed to be a rising star in Virginia Democratic politics, but then came the scandal. Old text messages from 2022 surfaced showing Jones writing that then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican, should get "two bullets to the head." There were also messages discussing killing Gilbert's children. Jones offered a lame apology for being caught, but the damage was done. What had been a slight lead for Jones over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares evaporated practically overnight. Miyares has a +3.5 lead in the RealClearPolitics average.
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Do you really think Obama was there to help Spanberger or Jay Jones? At Saturday's event, Jones showed up and spoke even though he wasn't originally scheduled to appear. More than 7,000 people packed the venue, and there was Jones, right alongside the headliners, getting his moment in front of Obama's crowd.
Obama's remarks that day offered another clue. He praised Spanberger's ability to work across the aisle and urged Virginians to support her, saying, "She knows that if we want to make progress on the things that we care about, we have to be able to disagree without calling each other nasty names or demonizing each other."
Obama campaigns in VA for Spanberger:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 1, 2025
“She knows...that we have to be able to disagree without calling each other nasty names or demonizing each other."
The Dem VA AG candidate texted that he wanted his opponents’ children to die. He was welcomed on stage at this same rally. pic.twitter.com/Ot8zZhf7sp
That's a fascinating thing to say at a rally where Jay Jones just finished speaking. Here's a guy who fantasized in writing about murdering a Republican legislator and his children, and Obama is lecturing the crowd about civil discourse. The disconnect couldn't be more glaring.
It's hard to escape the conclusion that Obama wasn’t really there for Spanberger at all. She appears on the path to victory regardless of whether Obama showed up or not. But Jones? He's in serious trouble, and Democrats know what's at stake. If Jones loses, Republicans will control the attorney general's office for another term, and that's a problem for a party that's been quite open about using state attorneys general as a legal cudgel against the Trump administration. A friendly Democrat in that office means a reliable ally ready to file lawsuits, challenge federal policies, and generally make life difficult for the White House. Other Democratic attorneys general across the country have been aggressive in opposing Trump, and Virginia Democrats want that same firepower in Richmond.
Trust me, Obama’s trip to Virginia wasn’t about helping Spanberger. It was about boosting Jones through association, using Obama’s star power to drive enthusiasm and straight-ticket voting. If Jones rides those coattails to victory, Democrats get the attorney general they want to wage legal warfare against Trump. That’s the real reason Obama showed up.
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