Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat nominee for Virginia governor, declined to withdraw her endorsement of her party’s nominee for attorney general, who admitted to sending violent texts about a political rival.
At a gubernatorial debate Thursday between her and Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanberger repeatedly passed up chances to renounce her support for Jay Jones.
“The voters now have the information, and it is up to voters to make an individual choice based on this information,” she said, while calling Jones’ text messages “abhorrent.”
Controversy erupted after private messages from Jones were leaked, showing him joking about or expressing violent fantasies involving political opponents.
One text revealed him suggesting that a prominent Republican get “two bullets to the head.”
Jones, who previously served as a delegate from Norfolk and has positioned himself as a progressive candidate for attorney general, has apologized publicly, calling the messages a “shameful mistake” made in frustration.
Earle-Sears was on the attack at the beginning of the debate, turning a question about Virginia’s car tax into an attack on Jones.
“My opponent needs to answer about Jay Jones,” Earle-Sears said before turning to Spanberger.
“You have little girls. What would it take? Him pulling the trigger?
“Is that what would do it and then you would say he needs to get out of the race, Abigail?”
Spanberger said she disagreed with Jones’ messages.
“I denounced them when I learned of them and I will denounce them at every opportunity,” she said.
In the wake of Jones’ texts leaking, the Republican Governors Association announced it was spending another $1.5 million on Earle-Sears, even though Spanberger maintains a double-digit lead.
Earle-Sears released a new ad attacking Spanberger for supporting Jones, urging voters to “reject the insanity” and “vote Republican.”
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