Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday that the scandal is connected to the Virginia Democratic Attorney General nominated Jay Jones and his exposed violent text messages won’t cause trouble for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in the governor’s race as both are on the ballot next month.
“Senator, very quickly, are you concerned that this whole controversy could hurt Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and her chances of victory?” NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked Kaine on “Meet the Press.”
“Kristen, I don’t know. For your viewers who are not Virginians, we have a race for two weeks from Tuesday, a race for governor, a race for lieutenant governor, a race for attorney general, a race for every seat in our House of Delegates,” Kaine responded.
“Four big races. We’re a battleground. I think these results will send a message not only about Virginia, but about America in 2025. I think we’re going to do very well. I obviously think Jay Jones’ race for AG is greatly affected by this.”
Pressure on Jones increases after leaked text messages in which they openly discussed Violence towards former Virginia State House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).
Many Republicans inside and outside the state, including President Trump and Vice President Vance, have urged Jones to step down. The Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lieutenant Governor Winsom Earle-Sears, took out an ad linking Spanberger to Jones, highlighting the news.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a recent interview that he believed the majority of Virginians accepted Jones’ apology. violent text messages,
Martin described Jones’ text messages from 2022 about shooting Gilbert as “reckless and unacceptable” in an interview with Politico and said Jones would fit that description.
“He has taken responsibility for what he said and has apologized to the former speaker and Virginians,” Martin said. “I believe in free and fair elections, and the voters of Virginia are the ones who have to make that decision, and each race is their own, and you know, Virginians will make the final decision on who they want to be their next attorney general.”
