Democrats are circling the wagons once again—this time around Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones, who sent disturbing text messages fantasizing about a Republican lawmaker being shot. Despite the shocking nature of the comments, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced Thursday that he still supports Jones, calling his apology “sufficient.”
Speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill, Jeffries said, “The attorney general candidate has appropriately apologized for his remarks, and I know his remarks have been condemned across the board by Democrats in the commonwealth [of] Virginia and beyond. And that’s the right thing to do.”
But for many, the issue isn’t simply a matter of words — it’s a question of judgment and character. The text messages, sent on August 8, 2022, to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, implied violence toward then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and even his children. One text from Jones read:
“Three people, two bullets.”
In another, he added:
“Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin condemned the messages outright, calling on Jones to step down immediately. “This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying,” Youngkin said. “Jay Jones said that ‘Gilbert gets two bullets to the head’ and then hoped his children would die.”
The governor continued: “Read those words again. There is no ‘gosh, I’m sorry’ here. Jones doesn’t have the morality or character to drop out of this race, and his running mates Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and every elected Democrat in Virginia don’t have the courage to call on him to step away from this campaign in disgrace.”
So far, that courage seems absent. Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat nominee for governor, was pressed during a recent debate with Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on whether she still supports Jones. Instead of rescinding her endorsement, she dodged:
“I’m saying, as of now, it’s up to every voter to make their own individual decision. I am running for governor. I am accountable for the words that I say, for the acts that I take, for the policies that I have put out.”
Spanberger added that she had “condemned the rhetoric” when the texts became public — yet she continues to back the man who wrote them.
The silence from Democrat leaders speaks volumes. When violent or hateful speech comes from the Left, it’s dismissed as a “mistake” or “taken out of context.” But when Republicans use strong language to challenge policy or defend American values, Democrats label it “dangerous extremism.”
It’s a double standard as old as Washington politics: one set of rules for Democrats, another for everyone else. In this case, the party that claims to champion “unity” and “civility” is standing by a candidate who joked about political assassinations. That’s not leadership — it’s moral rot dressed up as tolerance.
The voters of Virginia will soon decide whether that’s acceptable.
