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Virginia Democratic AG Candidate Jay Jones Just Lost MSNBC

By POLITICS COMMENTARY

Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General, has had a weekend straight out of political karma — and frankly, he earned it. Turns out, this rising Democrat star wasn’t just a reckless driver behind the wheel; he was reckless in judgment, too.

After being busted a few years ago for reckless driving, Jones conveniently turned his “community service” into a stepping stone for his political ambitions.

But that was small potatoes compared with the bombshell texts that surfaced last week. In 2022 messages revealed to the public, Jones allegedly said he wanted to shoot Republican colleague Todd Gilbert — and even wished harm on Gilbert’s children to force a change in his stance on gun policy.

Per Townhall’s Matt Vespa:

So, he got a cupcake deal, but what about wishing death on State House Speaker Todd Gilbert? Yeah, in a series of texts, Jones pretty much hopes his enemies feel pain since that’s the only way change can happen. It’s insane. This outburst occurred in August 2022 when a moderate Virginia Democrat, Joe Johnson, Jr., passed away. Jones was not fond of Johnson, scoffed at the tributes, and seemed like an all-around unstable personality.

Republicans — including President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance — have called for Jones to drop out of the race, and they’re right to do so. Jones is running to be Virginia’s top law enforcement officer, yet his own words reveal a shocking level of hatred and violence toward those he disagrees with politically.

Not only did he allegedly express a desire to harm a Republican colleague and his family, but he reportedly referred to that colleague’s children as “little fascists.” That kind of rhetoric isn’t just disqualifying — it’s depraved:

It’s a fair question — and one that many voters in Virginia may now be asking themselves. If a candidate for attorney general has expressed such hostility toward Republicans and their families, it raises broader concerns about whether he could serve all Virginians fairly, regardless of political affiliation.

Some Democrats have rallied behind Jones despite the controversy. Former Biden aide Neera Tanden downplayed the inflammatory text messages, describing them as part of a “private conversation” that shouldn’t define his candidacy. Meanwhile, the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee released a statement reaffirming its support for Jones’s campaign for attorney general, signaling that party loyalty once again is taking precedence over accountability:

Democratic State Senators are vouching for Jones, too. Other Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, criticized Jones, but Spanberger did not call for him to withdraw from the race. It’s a bad look for Spanberger, and her opponent, current GOP AG Winsome Earle-Sears released an ad shredding her over it:

Now it looks like even MSNBC can see the writing on the wall. The fallout from Jay Jones’s vile text messages is becoming a political disaster for Democrats in Virginia, including Spanberger — so much so that co-host Joe Scarborough is now publicly urging him to drop out of the race.

“He should probably be forced to withdraw from the race,” Scarborough said. “And ‘probably’ is doing a lot there.”

Mika Brzezinski called the text messages “horrible” and added, “I didn’t want to read them out loud.”

WATCH:

Panelist Jonathan Lemire replied, “Yeah, deeply disturbing messages that have been swiftly condemned across the aisle. [Spanberger] did very quickly denounce them. But it’s unclear whether this attorney general candidate will stay in the race. I think there’s a growing sense that he probably should not, we heard President Trump last night. But even some Democratic leaders, John Heilemann, have started to say like, ‘Look, this is inappropriate.’ You can’t, and especially at a time right now with such concern about violent rhetoric and political violence.”

“Who says that?” Brzezinski asks.

John Heilemann, another panelist, remarked, “It’s wildly inappropriate under any circumstances,” and added, “This guy should do everyone a favor and step out of that race.”

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