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Virginia Democrat attorney general hopeful Jay Jones retains the support of nearly 200 endorsements from various organizations, elected officials, and influential Democrats. This remains the case several days after 2022 text messages reappeared where he made statements about shooting the former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and mentioned his children’s deaths. As of Monday, October 6, none of his supporters have revoked their endorsement or asked him to exit the candidacy.
The controversy arose late last week following an article by National Review that disclosed messages between Jones and Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner. In these texts, Jones said if he had to choose between shooting two dictators or Gilbert, he would “choose Gilbert every time.” Coyner confirmed that Jones also alluded to Gilbert’s children dying “in their mother’s arms.” Jones has since apologized, expressing that he was “deeply sorry” and that he took “full responsibility” for his words.
Since the exposure, demands for Jones’s withdrawal have come from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is campaigning for governor. Earle-Sears released an advertisement on Sunday showing Democrats backing Jones and urging people to “reject the insanity.” Trump threw his support behind incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares, labeling Jones’s comments as “sick and demented,” while Miyares called them “disqualifying.”
Jones’s campaign website still displays support from key national leaders, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former Virginia Gov. Ralph S. Northam, former first ladies Dorothy McAuliffe and Pamela Northam, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA), and former Reps. 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 reiterated its “full support” for Jones in an October 4, 2025, announcement, explaining the coverage as “highlighting past mistakes” and stating that Jones had “acknowledged, apologized, and proven he is dedicated to serving with honor and accountability.” The committee compared Jones with Attorney General Jason Miyares, criticizing him for not standing up for the priorities and principles of Virginia families, defending women’s reproductive and labor rights, or safeguarding healthcare access for Virginians at risk.
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) also advocated for Jones in an October 5 post on X, urging Virginians to support “Democrats across the board.” Delegate Melody Cartwright (D-48) stated, “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.
