Poll numbers flipped hard when Jay Jones’s ugly texting scandal hit the headlines. New Trafalgar Group polling shows Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares now ahead by six points after previously trailing by four, and that swing happened fast. Voters are paying attention to character as Election Day nears.
The damage isn’t limited to the attorney general race. The governor and lieutenant governor contests tightened, moving into statistical ties and making both campaigns suddenly competitive. Early voting is under way and momentum matters.
The messages Jones sent back in August 2022 were more than overheated rhetoric; they included fantasies about killing then-Virginia Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert with “two bullets to the head,” and imagining Gilbert’s children dying in his wife Jennifer’s arms. Jones has admitted he sent the texts but has tried to soften the fallout by denying other alleged remarks. Actions like that leave voters asking whether someone with those impulses should hold statewide office.
Instead of confronting the seriousness of those messages, the Virginia Democrat Party looks panicked and defensive. Few leaders have demanded Jones step down, and endorsements have not been withdrawn en masse. That silence speaks louder than platitudes.
Predictably, some Democrats have turned to whataboutism to deflect blame. They want to make comparisons instead of taking responsibility. That tactic insults voters’ intelligence.
House Democrat Don Beyer offered one of the more startling defenses when he was pressed about the texts in a public video. His closing argument treated Jones’s threats as roughly equivalent to everyday comments from other Republicans, and he urged support for Jones despite the words at issue.
“You know, what Jay said was awful. It’s no worse than what Donald Trump says almost every day, and the things JD Vance has said, when you compare it to the other evil things. People make mistakes. I very much hope he prevails.”
That comparison is flatly wrong and weakens Beyer’s case. I follow national news closely and have never seen Donald Trump or JD Vance fantasize about murdering a political rival and picturing their children dying.
There have been actual, politically motivated attempts on leaders’ lives, such as the attempt on Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign, which is a separate and serious issue. Equating routine political nastiness with explicit murder fantasies blurs an important line. Saying “everyone does it” is not a defense when the words describe killing someone.
For Democrats to hide behind “But Trump/Vance” is pathetic and insulting to Virginia voters who understand the difference between rough politics and violent threat fantasies. Most voters can tell the difference between sharp rhetoric and wishing you could shoot a colleague and their family. That moral distinction matters at the ballot box.
One has to wonder whether Beyer actually believes his comparison or is covering for party solidarity. There are troubling signs that some in the party are minimizing violent rhetoric instead of rejecting it outright. If a growing number of voters accept that kind of thinking, Virginia’s politics just got a lot darker.
The sickening messages we heard and read from some of them after Charlie Kirk’s assassination lend credence to that point, in my opinion. Prove me wrong.
Darnell Thompkins is a Canadian-born American and conservative opinion writer who brings a unique perspective to political and cultural discussions. Passionate about traditional values and individual freedoms, Darnell’s commentary reflects his commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue. When he’s not writing, he enjoys watching hockey and celebrating the sport that connects his Canadian roots with his American journey.