Democrats Who Continue to Support Jay Jones Despite Controversial Comments About GOP Leader

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Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones still has the backing of around 200 endorsements from organizations, elected officials, and notable Democrats, days after 2022 text messages emerged where he talked about shooting former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and mentioned his children dying. By October 6, his supporters had neither withdrawn their endorsements nor asked him to leave the race.

The controversy began in late last week when National Review shared messages between Jones and Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner. In these texts, Jones stated he would choose to shoot Gilbert over two dictators. Coyner confirmed Jones also referred to Gilbert’s children dying “in the arms of their mother.” Jones subsequently apologized, expressing he was “deeply sorry” and assumed “full responsibility” for his words.

Following the report, calls for Jones to step down were made by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is aiming for the governorship. Earle-Sears aired an ad on Sunday highlighting Democratic support for Jones and urging voters to “reject the insanity.” Trump endorsed current Attorney General Jason Miyares, labeling Jones’s remarks as “sick and demented,” and Miyares described them as “disqualifying.”

Jay Jones’s campaign website still reflects support from national leaders, including Senator Cory Booker, former Virginia Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph S. Northam, former first ladies Dorothy McAuliffe and Pamela Northam, Representative Bobby Scott, Representative Suhas Subramanyam, Representative Eugene Vindman, and former Representatives Elaine Luria and Tom Perriello.

He is endorsed by the following members of the Virginia General Assembly:

Senators:

Sen. Lashrecse Aird – Petersburg
Sen. Lamont Bagby – Henrico
Sen. Barbara Favola – Arlington
Sen. Mamie Locke – Hampton (Chair, Senate Democratic Caucus)
Sen. Jeremy McPike – Prince William
Sen. Stella Pekarsky – Fairfax
Sen. Russet Perry – Loudoun
Sen. Kannan Srinivasan – Loudoun
Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg – Henrico
Sen. Angelia Williams Graves – Norfolk

Delegates:

Del. Alex Askew – Virginia Beach
Del. Bonita Anthony – Norfolk
Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling – Henrico
Del. David Bulova – Fairfax
Del. Katrina Callsen – Charlottesville
Del. Nadarius Clark – Suffolk
Del. Laura Jane Cohen – Fairfax
Del. Joshua Cole – Stafford
Del. Rae Cousins – Richmond
Del. Karrie Delaney – Fairfax
Del. Michael Feggans – Virginia Beach
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler – Virginia Beach
Del. Debra Gardner – Chesterfield
Del. Cliff Hayes – Chesapeake
Del. Dan Helmer – Fairfax
Del. Rozia Henson – Prince William
Del. Phil Hernandez – Norfolk
Del. Patrick Hope – Arlington
Del. Michael Jones – Richmond
Del. Alfonso Lopez – Arlington
Del. Candi Mundon King – Prince William
Del. Paul Krizek – Fairfax
Del. Michelle Maldonado – Prince William
Del. Adele McClure – Arlington
Del. Marcia Price – Newport News
Del. Sam Rasoul – Roanoke
Del. Atossa Reaser – Loudoun
Del. David Reid – Loudoun
Del. Holly Seibold – Fairfax
Del. Briana Sewell – Prince William
Del. Irene Shin – Fairfax
Del. Marcus Simon – Fairfax
Del. Shelly Simonds – Newport News
Del. JJ Singh – Loudoun
Del. Josh Thomas – Prince William
Del. Luke Torian – Prince William

Former Members of the Virginia General Assembly

Former Del. Ward Armstrong – Martinsville
Former Del. Dick Cranwell – Vinton
Former Del. Jeff Bourne – Richmond
Former Del. Sally Hudson – Charlottesville
Former Del. Chris Hurst – Blacksburg
Former Del. Mike Mullin – Newport News
Former Del. Kathleen Murphy – Fairfax
Daun Hester – Former Vice Mayor and Delegate, Norfolk
Martha Mugler – City Council and Former Delegate, Hampton
Former Del. David Toscano – Charlottesville
Roslyn Tyler – School Board and Former Delegate, Sussex

Local Elected Officials

Andreas Addison – Former City Council, Richmond
Walter Alcorn – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
Kenny Alexander – Mayor, Norfolk
Sandy Anderson – School Board, Fairfax
Victor Angry – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
Andrea Bailey – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
Dana Barakat – Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Fairfax
Joe Baron – Sheriff, Norfolk
Mary Benjamin – School Board, Dinwiddie
Jimmy Bierman – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
Mary Biggs – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Montgomery
Kenny Boddye – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
John Chapman – City Council, Alexandria
Carlos Clanton – City Council, Norfolk
Maureen Coffey – County Board, Arlington
Susan Cunningham – County Board, Arlington
Matt de Ferranti – Vice Chair, County Board, Arlington
Parisa Dehghani-Tafti – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Arlington and Falls Church
Steve Descano – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Fairfax
Todd Divers – Commissioner of the Revenue, Charlottesville
Courtney Doyle – City Council, Norfolk
Frankie Edmondson – Commissioner of the Revenue, Portsmouth
Robert Elliott Jr. – Chairman, Board of Supervisors, Surry
Ramin Fatehi – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Norfolk
Paul Fraim – Former Mayor, Norfolk
Margaret Franklin – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
Karl Frisch – Chair, School Board, Fairfax
James Gray – Mayor, Hampton
Letty Hardi – Mayor, Falls Church
Rachna Sizemore Heizer – School Board, Fairfax
James Hingeley – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Albemarle
Deshundra Jefferson – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Prince William
Andres Jimenez – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
Mamie Johnson – City Council, Norfolk
Takis Karantonis – Chair, County Board, Arlington
Phil Kellam – Commissioner of the Revenue, Virginia Beach
Derek Kitts – Board of Supervisors, Montgomery
Ann Frances Lambert – Former City Council, Richmond
Sherman Lea – Former Mayor, Roanoke
Sonia Vasquez Luna – City Council, Manassas
Stephanie Lynch – City Council, Richmond
Jeremy McGee – City Council, Norfolk
Melanie Meren – School Board, Fairfax
Jordan Miles – Board of Supervisors, Buckingham
Gabe Morgan – Sheriff, Newport News
Ross Mugler – Commissioner of the Revenue, Hampton
Paul Mullin – Treasurer, Petersburg
Neal Osborne – City Council, Former Mayor, Bristol
JP Paige – City Council, Norfolk
Amanda Pohl – Clerk of Court, Chesterfield
Mike Pruitt – Board of Supervisors, Albemarle
Jose Quiroz – Sheriff, Arlington
Phyllis Randall – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Loudoun
Deanna Reed – Mayor, Harrisonburg
Randy Riffle – School Board, Williamsburg
Danica Royster – Former City Council, Norfolk
Koran Saines – Board of Supervisors, Loudoun
Jessica Schneider – Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield
Blythe Scott – Commissioner of the Revenue, Norfolk
Annette Smith-Lee – City Council, Petersburg
Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr. – School Board, Arlington
Zuraya Tapia-Hadley – School Board, Arlington
Martin Thomas Jr. – Vice Mayor, Norfolk
Ella Ward – City Council, Chesapeake
Trish White-Boyd – Former City Council, Roanoke
Misty Whitehead – Board of Supervisors, Henrico
Liam Watson – Town Council, Blacksburg

Major labor unions and advocacy organizations have also maintained their endorsements.

Labor Unions

AFL-CIO
AFSCME
American Federation of Government Employees – RISE
SEIU Virginia State Council
UNITE HERE!
UA Local 10 (Richmond & Roanoke)
UA Local 5 (Washington, DC, area)
LiUNA! (Laborers’ International Union of North America)
Teamsters Union
Professional Fire Fighters of Virginia
Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF)
Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO
UA Steamfitters Local 602
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 110
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters
Sprinkler Fitters Local 669
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2068
Virginia Machinists Council
Virginia Association of Letter Carriers

Advocacy and Issue-Based Organizations

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Giffords PAC
Brady PAC
End Citizens United
Freedom Virginia
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
New Virginia Majority
Reproductive Freedom for All
REPRO Rising Virginia PAC
Roe Your Vote Virginia
Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate 2025
Virginians for Change – Action Against Gun Violence
Committee to Protect Health Care
Care in Action
Black Men Vote PAC
Clean Virginia
The Collective PAC
Virginia LGBT+ Democrats
Professional Fire Fighters of Virginia (also labor)
AAUP (American Association of University Professors)
National Organization for Women – Virginia Chapter
Jewish Dems
People for the American Way
Prevent Gun Tragedies PAC
VEA Votes 2025 (Virginia Education Association political arm)

The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee reaffirmed its “full support” for Jones in an October 4, 2025 press release, noting that recent media focus was on “past mistakes,” and highlighting Jones’s responsibility-taking, apology, and dedication to serving with integrity. They contrasted this with Attorney General Jason Miyares, alleging he fails to address Virginian family concerns and values, or defend women’s reproductive rights, workers’ rights, or protect those at risk of losing healthcare access.

Representative Eugene Vindman also supported Jones publicly on October 5 via X, urging Virginians to vote for “Democrats up and down the ballot.” Delegate Melody Cartwright showed her support as well, tweeting, “I stand with @jonesjay. Period. End of statement.”

The resurfaced comments have further intensified Virginia’s political climate, already charged by the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk last month and debates over political violence. Gov. Youngkin said Democrats are “acting as if [Jones’s comments] are nothing,” and reiterated his call for Jones to “resign, step down, and get out of the race.”

Jones has denied claims from Coyner that he once stated “more police should die” during a 2020 policy debate, calling the allegation false and asserting he has “never believed and does not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement.”

As of Monday night, no Democratic organization or individual listed among Jones’s endorsers has rescinded their support or issued public criticism. The election for Virginia’s attorney general will take place in less than a month.