Republican Jason Miyares and Democrat Jay Jones faced off in a contentious debate for Virginia attorney general Thursday that focused in large part on the recently surfaced violent texts that Jones sent three years ago.
Jones’ texts have drawn bipartisan condemnation, but so far, only Republicans have called for him to exit the race.
During Miyares’ closing message, he asked voters whether they could trust a person who sent the texts Jones did.
“How can we trust Jay Jones?” he said.
“How can we trust Jay Jones to prosecute a … gang member, knowing that he asked for an innocent Virginian to get two bullets to his head?
The recently leaked violent texts that Democrat Jay Jones sent three years ago were a major topic of discussion during Thursday’s heated debate between Republican Jason Miyares and Democratic candidate for Virginia attorney general.
Jones was repeatedly criticized by incumbent Miyares for the texts during their lone debate prior to the November election, claiming they demonstrated his ineptitude as Virginia’s top law enforcement official.
Miyares began his opening remarks by saying, “We have seen a window to who Jay Jones is and the way he thinks of people that disagree with him.”. “We now know what he was doing in the dark, despite Abraham Lincoln’s statement that character is what you do in the dark when no one is looking.”. “”.
Shortly after, Miyares launched another offensive on the subject, this time directly targeting Jones.
“Jay, you would fail a background check if you applied to be a line prosecutor in any attorney general office across the nation, not just mine. You may apologize right now, but consider what transpired first. Jay, you had three years to apologize, but you didn’t. It was terrible that it took three years to realize what you had done. You made the decision to remain silent. “”.
According to the criticisms, Jones suggested in 2022 that Republican Todd Gilbert, who was the speaker of the House of Representatives for Virginia at the time, receive “two bullets to the head.”. Another text message from Jones talked about Gilbert’s children being abused.
In the hour-long debate Thursday, Jones, a former state lawmaker, apologized and said he was sorry for the texts. “I am going to hear from my opponent regarding text messages that I sent that I deeply, deeply regret,” he informed the audience during his opening remarks. “”.
“Let me be transparent. Jones said, “I apologize, I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed.”. “I apologize to all Virginians, Speaker Gilbert, his family, and my own family alike. Even though I can’t take back what I said, I promise to always be responsible for my errors. “”.
The revelation of Jones’ texts has disrupted races across the board in Virginia, one of the first significant statewide elections since the presidential contest last year, and heightened tensions surrounding political violence. Only Republicans have demanded that Jones withdraw from the race thus far, despite the fact that his texts have been denounced by both parties.
The debate took place at a crucial juncture, as the state’s early voting is already underway and Republicans have heavily invested in the contest with advertisements that focus on Jones’ violent texts.
Jones frequently attempted to change the subject of the discussion by criticizing Miyares for failing to oppose President Donald Trump and his policies, which he claimed had harmed Virginians.
Jones stated, “Jason Miyares is a willing cheerleader here who will not step up to sue when Donald Trump fires employees, defunds our schools, imposes tariffs that destroy our regional economies, sends armed troops into cities, and defunds law enforcement.”. In contrast to other attorneys general, Jason has not fought to defend the institutions, values, and resources of their state. “”.
Jones later stated, “I was held accountable,” alluding to both his texts and a 2022 conviction for reckless driving. However, the attorney general we currently have in Virginia refuses to hold the president responsible. “.”.
Trump “has run roughshod over this commonwealth,” according to Jones, who has backed Miyares.
He listed “50 opportunities” for Miyares to “sue the administration to protect our values,” including the firing of federal employees by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency this year and the ongoing government shutdown. “.”.
He is too weak and afraid to challenge the president, which is why his office hasn’t taken any action, Jones claimed.
Miyares retorted that in order to “protect our veterans,” he had “sued both administrations, the Trump administration and the Biden administration.”. “..”.
Along with these issues, the two argued about cashless bail, addiction, public safety, and consumer protection. However, the discussion regularly veered into national issues like immigration, transgender rights, and abortion.
Jones attempted to criticize Miyares at one point for his record on reproductive rights, but Miyares swiftly made the discussion about transgender issues the focus of the exchange.
Before asserting that Jones “will never stand up for female athletes and their desire to be able to compete on the training field,” he admitted, “I do find it amazing, Jay, that you talk about the importance of protecting women.”. “”.
Jones’ texts, however, repeatedly took center stage. In his closing remarks, Miyares questioned voters about the reliability of someone who sent the texts that Jones did.
He asked, “How can we trust Jay Jones?”. We can’t rely on Jay Jones to bring charges against a dot. How could Jay Jones ever be trusted to console a distraught mother who has lost a child to violence, knowing that he hoped that a child as young as two years old would die? gang member, knowing that he solicited two bullets to the head of an innocent Virginian.
He remarked, “Virginians, we could do so much better.”.
