By Kate Plummer

Copyright newsweek

Jay Jones’ chances of winning the race to become Virginia‘s next attorney general have dropped after leaked texts revealed he previously suggested a former Virginia House speaker should receive “two bullets to the head.”

According to new polling, the proportion of people who support Jones, an attorney who served in the House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022, has decreased, as the Democrat prepares to face the incumbent attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares in the upcoming election.

Newsweek reached out to Jones and Miyares to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.

Why It Matters

The new polling shows that Jones’ behavior could have a huge impact on the race and boost the Republicans chances of success, thus impacting the future of legislation and policy in the state.

Jay Jones reacts to the passage of a bill relating to electric utility at the Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.

The leaked texts also come at a time of increasing political polarization in the U.S., with the threat of violence hanging in the air, especially after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Their publication has fueled scrutiny of how public figures should use language.

What To Know

The texts, sent to Republican State Delegate Carrie Coyner in August 2022, reportedly spoke about shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican. They were sent amid a conversation about tributes from Republicans about Joe Johnson Jr., a moderate Democrat and former state legislator who had just died. Jones called Gilbert a “POS” and wondered what he “would say about me if I died.”

“Three people, two bullets,” Jones added.

“Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot,” Jones wrote. “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

The messages were first reported by National Review.

Newsweek has not independently verified the messages, but Jones has not questioned their veracity and has apologized for them.

In the wake of their publication on October 3, Jones’ polling has suffered. According to an internal poll for the Jones conducted by Hart Research Associates and reported by The New York Post, Jones is leading Miyares 46 percent to 45 percent. The poll of 600 Virginia voters was conducted between October 4 and 6. This shows his lead declining from previous polling.

A previous Washington Post-Schar School poll last Friday for instance, conducted before the texts were published, showed Jones ahead of Miyares by 51 percent to 45 percent.

Meanwhile, polling from the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), shared with 7News, showed that the proportion of voters who supported Jones declined from 46.4 percent on September 7, to 43.7 percent on October 7.

What People Are Saying

Thomas Gift, the founding director of the University College London Centre on U.S. Politics told Newsweek: “A good rule of thumb is never to write anything in a private text that you wouldn’t be comfortable seeing splashed across the front page of a major newspaper. Unfortunately for Jones, he broke that rule—and now he’s facing the political fallout. Making a comeback now will require not just repentance and luck, but also a generous dose of forgiveness from Virginia voters.

Jones said in a statement to the outlet WRIC that he was “deeply, deeply sorry for what I said and I wish that it hadn’t happened and I would take it back if I could.”

President Donald Trump on Truth Social: “Radical Left Lunatic, Jay Jones…made SICK and DEMENTED jokes, if they were jokes at all, which were not funny, and that he wrote down and sent around to people, concerning the murdering of a Republican Legislator, his wife, and their children.”

Vice President JD Vance on X: “The Democrat candidate for AG in Virginia has been fantasizing about murdering his political opponents in private messages.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday: “I’m not at liberty to discuss political races from the podium. I think the president himself made his position very clear, and I think anyone could agree, the messages that were sent by the Democrat nominee attorney general in Virginia are really shocking, alarming and completely unacceptable. He was threatening to kill his opponent and his opponent’s children, and that type of rhetoric has zero place in our country, and the president was absolutely right to condemn that.”

What Happens Next

The election takes place on November 4 and early voting is underway. As well as attorney general, voters are electing a governor, lieutenant governor and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.