Overview
- During Thursday’s debate, Abigail Spanberger condemned Jay Jones’s texts but repeatedly declined to say whether she still backs him or wants him to quit the attorney general race.
- Winsome Earle-Sears pressed Spanberger on transgender bathroom and locker room access and pledged to keep Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s sex-separated policy, while Spanberger argued for local decision-making.
- Trafalgar’s Oct. 8–10 poll places Spanberger at 47.7% and Earle-Sears at 45.1% within a 2.9-point margin of error, and shows Attorney General Jason Miyares leading Jones 48.9% to 43.1%.
- Republicans intensified their push after the debate, with Earle-Sears and Miyares urging Jones to drop out and the Republican Attorneys General Association adding $2.5 million to support Miyares.
- Democrats defended Spanberger’s approach as running her own race, Sen. Tim Kaine signaled continued support for Jones, the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee urged voters to line up behind him, and Jones issued apologies for the texts.