RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Democratic candidate for attorney general has apologized for widely condemned text messages from 2022 that revealed him suggesting that a prominent Republican get “two bullets to the head.”

The texts put the Democratic challenger, Jay Jones, on the defensive in what has been a hard-hitting campaign. Early voting is well underway in Virginia ahead of the November general election.

Jones’ campaign didn’t challenge the accuracy of the texts, first reported by The National Review, and he offered a public apology to Todd Gilbert, the target of the messages. Jones said he took “full responsibility for my actions.” Gilbert was speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates at the time of the text messages but is no longer a legislator.

Jones has faced a torrent of bipartisan criticism since the messages surfaced. Jones is challenging Republican incumbent Jason Miyares for the job as Virginia’s top prosecutor.

Miyares ripped into Jones on Saturday, questioning his challenger’s fitness for the job.

“You have to be coming from an incredibly dark place to say what you said,” Miyares told reporters. “Not by a stranger. By a colleague. Somebody you had served with. Someone you have worked with.”

Jones and Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner spoke in a phone conversation following the text exchange, in which Jones described Gilbert’s children dying in the arms of their mother, according to the National Review’s report.

“I have been a prosecutor, and I have been obviously serving as attorney general,” Miyares said. “I have met quietly one-on-one with victims. There is no cry like the cry of a mother that lost her child. None.”

A spokesperson for the Virginia House Republican caucus, contacted on Saturday by The Associated Press, said Gilbert was not commenting on the text messages. Gilbert stepped down as a legislator to become a federal prosecutor this year but resigned a month later.

The revelation about the text messages shook up the campaign and comes as both parties seek advantage in statewide races being closely watched for trends heading into next year’s midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. And it comes amid an escalating threat of political violence in the country following the shooting deaths of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and former Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband.

In Virginia, other Democrats running for statewide office didn’t mince words in criticizing Jones.

Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement Friday that she “spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted. I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words.” She vowed to ”always condemn violent language in our politics.”

Ghazala Hashmi, the Democrat running for lieutenant governor, said “political violence has no place in our country and I condemn it at every turn.” Hashmi added that “we must demand better of our leaders and of each other.” Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in Virginia.

The Republican Attorneys General Association said Jones should withdraw from the campaign for his “abhorrent” text messages. The group’s chairman, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, said the messages were unacceptable “from someone who wants to represent law enforcement.”

“There is no place for political violence, including joking about it – especially from an elected official,” Kobach said.

Jones did not hold elected office when he sent the text messages about Gilbert to Coyner, who is seeking reelection in a competitive House district. Jones had formerly served as a state legislator, and stepped down in 2021.

In his texts, Jones wrote: “Three people two bullets … Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.” Pol Pot was the leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

Conyer replied: “Jay … Please stop.” Jones responded: “Lol … Ok, ok.”

In his statement Friday, Jones said: “Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed and sorry.”

“I have reached out to Speaker Gilbert to apologize directly to him, his wife Jennifer, and their children,” he added. “I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology.”

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Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky.