More Senate Democrats are avoiding questions about the appropriateness of Virginia Democratic candidate Jay Jones remaining in the attorney general race. This comes after controversial text messages emerged, wherein Jones expressed a wish to put “two bullets” into a Republican colleague’s head.
When asked if Jones should withdraw from the campaign, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., simply stated, “I’m not thinking about it.” He also admitted he had not read the disputed text messages that are creating significant political turbulence in a tightly contested Virginia election. Meanwhile, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., replied, “I don’t have time right now,” and continued walking away.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., faced inquiries regarding whether he believed Jones should return donations made to his campaign, but he didn’t directly respond. Instead, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., began by acknowledging the very real issue of political violence in his own family, but then the elevator doors closed before he could elaborate further.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., mentioned, “I’m not tracking,” but reiterated the importance of ending violent rhetoric, stressing it shouldn’t come from any side.
Jay Jones, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, faced backlash for past messages in which he indicated he shot and killed then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert. In one text, he remarked, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert received two bullets in the head.” He also went on to suppose, “Put Gilbert in the worst two-man crew you know, and he gets shot at both times every time.”
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff opted not to engage with media inquiries and simply walked away.
Additionally, Jones had previously texted that he hoped Gilbert’s children would die; when confronted, he insisted that such distress could be a “good thing” if it served his political aims. In the face of this ongoing controversy, Jones later expressed regret over his comments, labeling them “embarrassing” and indicated he had reached out to Gilbert’s family directly.
