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 By October 6, his supporters had neither withdrawn their endorsements nor asked him to leave the race.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.
