Republican Jason Miyares and Democrat Jay Jones faced off in a contentious debate for Virginia attorney general Thursday that focused in large part on the recently surfaced violent texts that Jones sent three years ago.
In their only debate before the November election, Miyares, the incumbent, repeatedly slammed Jones over the texts, suggesting they proved he was unfit to be Virginia’s top law enforcement officer.
“We have seen a window to who Jay Jones is and the way he thinks of people that disagree with him,” Miyares said early on in his opening statement. “Abraham Lincoln said that character is what you do in the dark when no one is watching — but now we know what he was doing in the dark.”
Moments later, Miyares went on the attack again on the topic, addressing Jones directly.
“Jay, if you were to apply to be a line prosecutor in not just in my office, but any attorney general office in the country, you would not pass a background check. And right now you may say that you are sorry, but look back at what happened. You had three years to say you’re sorry, Jay, and you didn’t. Three years to actually recognize what you did was horrific. You chose to stay silent.”
The criticisms referred to texts Jones sent in 2022, in which he suggested that Republican Todd Gilbert, then Virginia’s House speaker, get “two bullets to the head.” Another text from Jones discussed violence against Gilbert’s children.
Jones, a former state lawmaker, apologized and expressed remorse over the texts during Thursday’s hourlong debate. In his opening statement, he told the audience that they were “going to hear from my opponent about text messages that I sent that I deeply, deeply regret.”
“Let me be very clear. I am ashamed, I am embarrassed, and I’m sorry,” Jones said. “I’m sorry to Speaker Gilbert, I’m sorry to his family, I’m sorry to my family, and I’m sorry to every single Virginian. I cannot take back what I said, but you have my word that I will always be accountable for my mistakes.”
The news of Jones’ texts has further inflamed tensions around political violence and upended races up and down the ticket in Virginia, one of the first major statewide elections to take place since last year’s presidential race. Jones’ texts have drawn bipartisan condemnation, but so far, only Republicans have called for him to exit the race.
The debate came at a pivotal moment: Republicans have pumped money into the race, launching ads that center on Jones’ violent texts, with early voting in the state already open.
Jones repeatedly sought to shift the focus of the debate by going after Miyares for not standing up to President Donald Trump and his policies, which Jones said have hurt Virginians.
“When Donald Trump fires workers, defunds our schools and levies tariffs that destroy our regional economies, sends armed troops into cities and defunds law enforcement, he has a willing cheerleader here in Jason Miyares who will not step up to sue,” Jones said. “Where other attorneys general have fought to protect their state’s resources and values and institutions, Jason hasn’t done that.”
“I was held accountable,” Jones said at another point, referring not only to his texts, but also to a reckless driving conviction in 2022. “But what we have here in Virginia right now is an attorney general who won’t hold the president accountable.”
Trump, who has endorsed Miyares, “has run roughshod over this commonwealth,” Jones said.
He mentioned the firing of federal workers this year by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the current government shutdown, among what he said were “50 opportunities” when Miyares could “sue the administration to protect our values.”
“His office hasn’t done a thing because he’s too weak and too scared to stand up to the president,” Jones said.
Miyares responded that he had “sued both administrations, the Trump administration and the Biden administration,” to “protect our veterans.”
The two also sparred over topics related to public safety, addiction, consumer protections and cashless bail. But the conversation frequently veered into national subjects, including abortion, transgender rights and immigration.
At one point, Jones tried to criticize Miyares over his record on reproductive rights, but Miyares quickly turned the conversation into an attack on trans issues.
“I do find it amazing, Jay, that you talk about the importance of protecting women,” he said, before he claimed that Jones “will never stand up for female athletes and their desire to be able to compete on the training field.”
But time and again, Jones’ texts took center stage. During Miyares’ closing message, he asked voters whether they could trust a person who sent the texts Jones did.
“How can we trust Jay Jones?” he said. “How can we trust Jay Jones to prosecute a … gang member, knowing that he asked for an innocent Virginian to get two bullets to his head? How could Jay Jones ever be trusted to comfort a grieving mother who has lost a child to violence, knowing that he hoped that a child as young as 2 years old would die?”
“Virginians, we could do so much better,” he said.
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