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41m ago

Virginia AG Nominee Jay Jones Cancels Fundraiser as GOP Steps Up Spending and Police Groups Urge Exit

The canceled event signals mounting pressure driven by new Republican spending and calls from law-enforcement organizations for him to leave the race.

Former Del. Jay Jones has won the Democratic nomination in the race for Virginia attorney general. (Credit:{ }Jay Jones for Virginia)
Jay Jones, who is running to become Virginia's attorney general in 2025, speaks to the audience during Abigail Spanberger's bus tour stop at Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 26, 2025.
Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones sat down for a town hall with ABC13's Pat Simon. (WSET)
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Overview

  • Jones apologized for 2022 texts fantasizing about shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and remains in the race, but his campaign scrapped a Thursday fundraiser reportedly planned at author David Baldacci’s home and told donors they would be refunded.
  • Virginia Law Enforcement Sheriffs’ Association and the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia publicly urged Jones to withdraw, citing the violent messages and questioning his fitness to serve as the state’s top law-enforcement official.
  • Republicans are leveraging the controversy: the Republican Governors Association added $1.5 million to boost Winsome Earle-Sears’s gubernatorial bid, and her campaign launched a $1 million TV and digital buy tying Abigail Spanberger to Jones’s texts.
  • Democrats condemned the messages yet largely stopped short of calling for withdrawal; Sen. Tim Kaine labeled the texts indefensible but said he still supports Jones, and Nancy Pelosi said Virginia leaders view him as the better person to serve as attorney general.
  • The uproar comes as early voting was already heavy, with more than 350,000 ballots cast before the texts became public, and polling conducted prior to the revelation showed Jones leading incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares by six points.