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By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, November 04, 2025<\/span><\/a>Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (C), marches in the 54th annual Buena Vista Labor Day Festival parade with Democratic Nominee for Lieutenant Governor, Senator Ghazala Hashmi (R), and Democratic Nominee for Attorney General, former state Delegate Jay Jones (L), on Sept. 01, 2025, in Buena Vista, Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia will hold its off-year election for governor and other statewide offices on Nov. 4. <\/span> | Win McNamee\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n Jay Jones, the Democrat candidate for attorney general of Virginia who garnered national attention for openly fantasizing about murdering a political opponent, has been elected.<\/p>\n According to results posted by NBC News on Tuesday evening, Jones defeated Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, who was elected in 2021 as the state\u2019s first Hispanic attorney general.<\/p>\n With 86.4% expected votes in, Jones had approximately 52.1% of the vote, while Miyares had 47.5% of the vote.<\/p>\n Additionally, Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first female governor of Virginia, while Democrat state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi was elected lieutenant governor, defeating Republican challenger John Reid.<\/p>\n Spanberger will succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was elected in 2021 and is ineligible to run for reelection, as Virginia prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms.<\/p>\n “It is the honor of my lifetime to be elected your next Governor. Tonight, you chose leadership that will always put you first \u2014 and tonight, we turned a page,” stated Spanberger regarding her historic win.<\/p>\n “I also know that the only way we’re going to solve these problems is by tackling them together. Democrats, Republicans, Independents \u2014 all of us \u2014 because that embodies the message we sent tonight, and that is Virginia.”<\/p>\n Jones garnered controversy last month when news broke that he had sent text messages in 2022 that involved fantasizing about murdering a political opponent and hoping his children would die.<\/p>\n National Review reported on a series of text messages Jones sent in 2022 to Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner shortly after he resigned his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.<\/p>\n In the text messages, Jones talked about Virginia Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert, stating that if he had Gilbert in the same room as Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot and had only two bullets in a gun, he would shoot Gilbert twice.<\/p>\n \u201cThree people, two bullets \u2026 Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot \u2026 Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,\u201d Jones texted. \u201cSpoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones garnered outrage from Republicans across the United States, with President Donald Trump himself being among those who demanded that he suspend his campaign due to his past rhetoric.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0post on his social media site Truth Social, Trump called Jones a \u201cRadical Left Lunatic\u201d and denounced the \u201cSICK and DEMENTED jokes\u201d made by the Democratic candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrat Jay Jones should drop out of the Race, IMMEDIATELY, and the People of Virginia must continue to have a GREAT Attorney General in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my Complete and Total Endorsement,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on Jones’ text messages, taking to his official X account to declare\u00a0that \u201cthis very deranged person\u201d has to \u201cdrop out of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Many Democrats, including Spanberger, also denounced Jones\u2019 comments, but few in the party called on Jones to resign.<\/p>\n During their one debate, Earle-Sears pressed Spanberger about her refusal to call for Jones to drop out, asking her what she would do if Jones had threatened her or her children instead.<\/p>\n Jones expressed remorse for his past remarks, saying in a statement\u00a0shared by ABC News affiliate 8News that he apologized to Gilbert and his family for his remarks.<\/p>\n \u201cReading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed and sorry,\u201d stated Jones. \u201cI cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVirginians deserve honest leaders who admit when they are wrong and own up to their mistakes. This was a grave mistake and I will work every day to prove to the people of Virginia that I will fight for them as Attorney General.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones\u2019 election victory, despite revelations about his violent text messages, comes less than two months after prominent conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a TPUSA event held outdoors at Utah Valley University.<\/p>\n The alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, reportedly killed Kirk over his opposition to Kirk\u2019s conservative Christian views on various issues, especially transgenderism.<\/p>\n Robinson was\u00a0charged in the Fourth Judicial District Court of Utah County, Utah, and is facing counts that include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, tampering with a witness, and violent offense committed in the presence of a child.<\/p>\n Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter <\/a> or Facebook