Republican AG Miyares says race against Democrat Jay Jones is ‘test of decency’ amid text scandal

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares says his reelection campaign against Democrat Jay Jones has become a “test of decency for the commonwealth,” following explosive revelations that have rocked the race for the state’s top law enforcement post.

The contest took a dramatic turn after revelations surfaced that Mr. Jones sent text messages in 2022 to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner in which he mused about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and said Mr. Gilbert should watch his children die.

“This goes to the question of decency,” Mr. Miyares, a Republican, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with The Washington Times. “Virginians are good and decent people, and they expect their leaders to carry themselves with civility, decorum, and integrity.”

“This is a moral test — an election about right versus wrong,” he added. “Jay Jones has failed that test.”

Less than a month out from Election Day and weeks into early voting, the fallout from Mr. Jones’ comments has upended races in Virginia, creating headaches for Democratic nominee Aibigail Spanberger in the governor’s race against Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

The saga is energizing Republicans as they seek to overcome traditional headwinds in Virginia’s off-year elections, which more often than not doom the sitting president’s party.

Calls for Mr. Jones to drop out of the race have intensified, especially following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which heightened concerns about the rise of political violence.

This includes the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police, which described Mr. Jones as “unfit for office.”

For their part, Democrats have condemned his remarks but largely continue to support him — leaving them vulnerable to attacks from Republicans.

Mr. Miyares expressed disbelief in the response, recalling how some Democrats once demanded the resignation of Gov. Ralph Northam over a blackface photo from his 1984 medical school yearbook.

“It’s clear that power matters more than decency,” Mr. Miyares said, arguing the job of the attorney general is to stop violence, not advocate for it.

Ms. Earle-Sears has also seized on the scandal, using it to target Ms. Spanberger, who holds a double-digit lead in recent polls.

In a campaign ad, Ms. Earle-Sears highlights footage of Ms. Spanberger praising Mr. Jones and telling a crowd, “Let your rage fuel you.”

“Abigail Spanberger, she stands with him, not us,” the narrator says in the ad.

According to polls, Mr. Miyares is on a firmer footing than Ms. Earle-Sears in his reelection race.

Troubling texts

According to the National Review, Mr. Jones said in a text three years ago that if he was given two bullets and forced to choose among Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot and Mr. Gilbert, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” and “Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”

Mr. Jones also reportedly said that if Mr. Gilbert and other Republicans who praised the late Democratic Delegate Joseph Johnson died before him, he would “go to their funerals to [urinate] on their graves.”

In a follow-up call to Ms. Coyner, Mr. Jones allegedly said that public policy only changes when lawmakers experience personal tragedy — suggesting Mr. Gilbert might reconsider his views if he and his wife lost their children.

Ms. Coyner hung up.

Things got messier after Ms. Coyner told the Virginia Scope that Mr. Jones had previously said in 2020, amid unrest over George Floyd’s murder, that if a few police officers died, then maybe they would stop killing people.

Mr. Jones has denied making that statement, but he has apologized for the text messages.

The scandal has been compounded by a separate controversy over Mr. Jones’ 2022 reckless driving charge, when he was clocked at 116 mph in a 70 mph zone.

He avoided jail time by agreeing to 1,000 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine. However, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that half of those hours were credited through work for his own political action committee, giving voters more food for thought as they weigh whether Mr. Jones is qualified to be the state’s top prosecutor.

“There are a lot of questions that are continuing to emerge that I think show both a lack of judgment and candidly a worldview,” Mr. Miyares said. “Let me put it to you this way: if Jay Jones were applying to be a line attorney or a cabinet staffer, and it turned out these text messages had emerged, he would not be hired.”