Kaine Asserts Jay Jones Scandal Unlikely to Impact Spanberger’s Prospects in Virginia Election

Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) expressed confidence on Sunday that the controversy surrounding Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general nominee for Virginia, will not impact former Representative Abigail Spanberger’s (D-Va.) gubernatorial campaign. Both candidates are gearing up for the upcoming election next month.

During an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Kaine, “Senator, very quickly, do you worry that this entire controversy could hurt the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and her chances of winning?”

Kaine responded, “Kristen, I don’t. For your viewers who aren’t Virginians, we have a race two weeks from Tuesday, governor, a race for lieutenant governor, a race for attorney general, a race for every seat in our House of Delegates.”

He elaborated, “Four big races. We’re a battleground state. I think those outcomes 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’s race for AG has been significantly affected by that.”

The pressure has been mounting on Jones after text messages surfaced, in which he allegedly discussed violence toward former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R). This revelation has cast a shadow over his campaign.

Multiple Republicans in and out of the Old Dominion have urged Jones to drop out, including President Trump and Vice President Vance. The Republican gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, has pounced on the news, putting out an ad linking Spanberger to Jones.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a recent interview he believed a majority of Virginians had accepted the apology from Jones for the violent text messages.

Martin referred to Jones’s text messages from 2022 about shooting Gilbert as “reckless and unacceptable” in an interview with Politico and said that Jones would be in line with that description.

“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.”

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