Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin has said he is confident most Virginians have accepted the apology from Virginia Attorney General nominee Jay Jones for sending graphic text messages in 2022, fantasizing about murdering a Republican lawmaker and his children being killed.
Martin told Politico that Jones’s comments were “reckless and unacceptable,” but emphasized that the Democrat has “taken responsibility,” without dropping out of the race.
“He has taken responsibility for what he said, and he’s apologized to the former speaker and to Virginians,” Martin said. “I believe in free and fair elections, and Virginia voters are the ones that will have to make this decision, and each race is their own, and you know, Virginians will make a final decision on who they want to be their next attorney general.”
“I believe that most Virginians have accepted that apology and that they’ll elect Jay Jones as the next attorney general,” Martin added.
The controversy erupted earlier this month when leaked texts from Jones, a former state delegate, were published, revealing violent rhetoric aimed at Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert.
In the messages sent to Republican Del. Carrie Coyner in 2022, Jones wrote things like “Three people, two bullets” in reference to Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot, followed by “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”
Jones didn’t stop there; he went even further, expressing a twisted wish that one of Gilbert’s children would die in a school shooting to change Gilbert’s stance on gun control.
“I wish one of his kids would get shot up at school and die. Then maybe he’d change his mind,” Jones wrote.
Jay Jones literally fantasized about killing a man and two children and Abigail Spanberger still doesn’t have the guts to tell him to drop out. pic.twitter.com/8CAjNqqWBI
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) October 3, 2025
Jones, who is challenging incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, has issued apologies, calling his words a “grave mistake.”
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and countless other Republican leaders have called for Jones to withdraw from the race in response.
However, Jones has defiantly refused, insisting the texts were private frustrations from a heated legislative session and do not reflect his character or ability to serve.
Martin’s optimistic take contrasts sharply with recent polling, which shows the race tightening significantly in Miyares’ favor.
“Jones’s campaign released a poll conducted by Hart Research showing him leading Miyares 46 percent support to 45 percent in the wake of the scandal. Another poll released by the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) that was conducted by Cygnal showed Miyares leading Jones 46 percent support to 44 percent. And a third survey released by the Trafalgar Group, a right-leaning firm, showed Miyares leading with 49 percent support to Jones’s 43 percent,” The Hill reports.
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