Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones continued to garner nearly 200 endorsements from organizations, elected officials and prominent Democrats, several days after the resurgence of text messages from 2022 in which he discussed the shooting of former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and mentioned his children dying. As of Monday, October 6, none of his endorsers have retracted their alignment or publicly called for him to drop out of the race.
declined late last week national review published Message between Jones and Republican Delegate Carrie Coiner. In the texts, Jones wrote that if faced with a choice between the two dictators or shooting Gilbert, he would “choose Gilbert every time.” Conner confirmed that Jones mentioned Gilbert’s children dying “in their mother’s arms”. Jones later apologized, saying he was “deeply sorry” and took “full responsibility” for his comments.
Since the report, calls to recall Jones have come from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, And Lt. Gov.Who is running for governor. earnings Issued An ad aired Sunday features Jones’ Democratic endorsement and urges voters to “reject the madness.” trump supported Incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares described Jones’s statements as “sickening and repugnant”, while Miyares dismissed them as “disqualifying.”
His campaign website continues 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., Rep. (D-VA), Rep. Ellen Luria and Tom Perello.
He is supported by the following members of the Virginia General Assembly:
Senator:
- Sen Lashresse Aird – Petersburg
- Sen. Lamont Bagby – Henrico
- Sen. Barbara Favola – Arlington
- Sen. Mamie Locke – Hampton (Chairman, Senate Democratic Caucus)
- Sen. Jeremy McPike – Prince William
- Sen. Stella Pekarski – Fairfax
- Sen. Russett Perry – Loudoun
- Sen Kannan Srinivasan – Loudoun
- Sen. Schuyler VanValkenberg – Henrico
- Sen. Angelia Williams Graves – Norfolk
Representative:
- Dell. Alex Askew – Virginia Beach
- Dell. Bonita Anthony – Norfolk
- Dell. Destiny Levere Boling – Henrico
- Dell. David Bulova – Fairfax
- Dell. Katrina Colon – Charlottesville
- Dell. Nadarius Clark – Suffolk
- Dell. Laura Jane Cohen – Fairfax
- Dell. Joshua Cole – Stafford
- Dell. Rae Cousins - Richmond
- Dell. Karri Delaney – Fairfax
- Dell. Michael Feigens – Virginia Beach
- Dell. Kelly Converse-Fowler-Virginia Beach
- Dell. Debra Gardner – Chesterfield
- Dell. Cliff Hayes – Chesapeake
- Dell. Dan Helmer – Fairfax
- Dell. Rosia Henson – Prince William
- Dell. Phil Hernandez – Norfolk
- Dell. Patrick Hope – Arlington
- Dell. Michael Jones – Richmond
- Dell. Alfonso Lopez – Arlington
- Dell. Candy Mundan King – Prince William
- Dell. Paul Krizek – Fairfax
- Dell. Michelle Maldonado – Prince William
- Dell. Adele McClure – Arlington
- Dell. Marcia Price – Newport News
- Dell. Sam Rasol – Roanoke
- Dell. Etosha Racer – Loudoun
- Dell. David Reed – Loudoun
- Dell. Holly Siebold – Fairfax
- Dell. Brianna Sewell – Prince William
- Dell. Irene Shin – Fairfax
- Dell. Marcus Simon – Fairfax
- Dell. Shelly Simmonds – Newport News
- Dell. JJ Singh – Loudoun
- Dell. Josh Thomas – Prince William
- Dell. Luke Torian – Prince William
Former members of the Virginia General Assembly
- Ex Del. Ward Armstrong – Martinsville
- Ex Del. Dick Cranwell – Vinton
- Ex Del. Jeff Bourne – Richmond
- Ex Del. Sally Hudson – Charlottesville
- Ex Del. Chris Hurst – Blacksburg
- Ex Del. Mike Mullin – Newport News
- Ex Del. Kathleen Murphy – Fairfax
- DAUN HESTER – Former Vice Mayor and Delegate, Norfolk
- Martha Mugler – City Council and former representative, Hampton
- Ex Del. David Toscano – Charlottesville
- Rosalyn Tyler – School Board and former representative, Sussex
local elected officials
- Andreas Edison – former city councilman, Richmond
- Walter Alcorn – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
- Kenny Alexander – Mayor, Norfolk
- Sandy Anderson – School Board, Fairfax
- Victor Angri – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
- Andrea Bailey – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
- Dana Barakat – Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Fairfax
- Joe Barron – Sheriff, Norfolk
- Mary Benjamin – School Board, Dinwiddie
- Jimmy Berman – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
- Mary Biggs – President, Board of Supervisors, Montgomery
- Kenny Boddy – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
- John Chapman – City Councilman, 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 Revenue, Charlottesville
- Courtney Doyle – City Council, Norfolk
- Frankie Edmondson – Commissioner of Revenue, Portsmouth
- Robert Elliott Jr. – Chairman, Board of Supervisors, Surry
- RAMIN FATEHI – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Norfolk
- Paul Fram – former mayor, Norfolk
- Margaret Franklin – Board of Supervisors, Prince William
- Carl Frisch – Chair, School Board, Fairfax
- James Gray – Mayor, Hampton
- Letty Hardy – Mayor, Falls Church
- Rachana Sizemore Heizer – School Board, Fairfax
- James Hingley – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Albemarle
- Deshundra Jefferson – Chairman, Board of Supervisors, Prince William
- Andres Jimenez – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax
- Mamie Johnson – City Council, Norfolk
- Takis Karantonis – Chairman, County Board, Arlington
- Phil Kellam – Commissioner of Revenue, Virginia Beach
- Derek Kitts – Board of Supervisors, Montgomery
- Ann Frances Lambert – former city councilor, Richmond
- Sherman Lee – former mayor, Roanoke
- Sonia Vasquez Luna – City Council, Manassas
- Stephanie Lynch – City Council, Richmond
- Jeremy McGee – City Council, Norfolk
- Melanie Meran – School Board, Fairfax
- Jordan Miles – Board of Supervisors, Buckingham
- Gabe Morgan – Sheriff, Newport News
- Ross Mugler – Commissioner of Revenue, Hampton
- Paul Mullin – Treasurer, Petersburg
- Neil Osborne – city councilor, 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 – President, Board of Supervisors, Loudoun
- Deanna Reed – Mayor, Harrisonburg
- Randy Riffle – School Board, Williamsburg
- Danica Royster – former city councilor, Norfolk
- Quran Sen – Board of Supervisors, Loudoun
- Jessica Schneider – Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield
- Blythe Scott – Commissioner of Revenue, Norfolk
- Annette Smith-Lee City Council, Petersburg
- Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr. – School Board, Arlington
- Jura Tapia-Hadley-School Board, Arlington
- Martin Thomas Jr. – Vice Mayor, Norfolk
- Ella Ward – City Council, Chesapeake
- Trish White-Boyd-Former City Councilor, Roanoke
- Misty Whitehead – Board of Supervisors, Henrico
- Liam Watson – Town Council, Blackburgh
Major labor unions and advocacy organizations have also maintained their support.
labor union
- AFL-CIO
- AFSCME
- American Federation of Federal Employees – Increase
- SEIU Virginia State Council
- Unite here!
- UA Local 10 (Richmond and Roanoke)
- UA Local 5 (Washington, DC, area)
- Lena! (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 and Steamfitters Local 110
- United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters
- Sprinkler Fitter 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
- And Citizens United
- freedom virginia
- Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
- New Virginia majority
- reproductive freedom for all
- Repo Rising Virginia PAC
- cry your vote virginia
- Mothers Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate 2025
- Virginians for Change – Action Against Gun Violence
- health care committee
- care in action
- black male vote pac
- clean virginia
- mass pac
- Virginia LGBT+ Democrat
- Professional Firefighters of Virginia (also labor)
- AAUP (American Association of University Professors)
- National Organization for Women – Virginia Chapter
- Jewish Dames
- people for the american way
- prevent gun tragedies
- VEA Votes 2025 (Virginia Education Association Political ARM)
Virginia Beach Democratic Committee reaffirmed Its “full support” for Jones in an October 4, 2025 press release, describing recent coverage as “spotlighting past mistakes” and saying that Jones “took responsibility, apologized, and demonstrated that he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability.” The committee contrasted Jones with Attorney General Jason Miyares, accusing her of failing to stand up for the concerns or values of Virginia families, defend women’s reproductive and workers’ rights, or protect Virginians at risk of losing access to health care.
Rape. Also Eugene Vindman (D-VA) PROMOTED In an October 5 post on X, Jones encourages Virginians to vote for “Democrats up and down the ballot.” Representative Melody Cartwright (D-48) Posted“I stand with @jonesjay. Period. End of statement.”
Reviving is further in the comments Quick Virginia’s political climate, already marked by the assassination of USAF founder Charlie Kirk the previous month, turned a turning point and the debate over political violence. Gov. Youngkin said Democrats are “acting as if [Jones’s comments] Nothing,” and reiterated his call for Jones to “resign, step down and get out of the race.” ,
Jones is rejected Coiner was accused of saying that he once said “more police should die” during a 2020 policy debate, calling the accusation false and claiming that 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’ endorsers has rescinded their endorsement or issued public criticism. The election for Virginia’s Attorney General will be held in less than a month.
