After Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares squared off against Jay Jones on the debate stage Thursday, Miyares appeared on Fox News to blast his Democrat opponent.
“If Jay Jones was applying to be a line prosecutor in my attorney general’s office — in fact, any attorney general’s office in all 50 states — he wouldn’t pass the background check for the job,” Miyares said on America Reports.
During Thursday’s debate, Miyares repeatedly brought up text messages that Jones sent in 2022 in which he wished death on former Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert, said Gilbert and his wife were “breeding little fascists,” and claimed he would like to “piss” on Republican graves, among other horrifying statements.
“I’m ashamed, I’m embarrassed, and I’m sorry,” Jones said on the debate stage — to which Miyares responded that if he were truly sorry, he would not be running for attorney general.
Miyares also brought up the fact that in 2022, Jones was convicted of reckless driving for going 116 mph in a 70 mph zone — but essentially walked for it.
“There were four people in court that day, all going around the same speed,” Miyares said on Fox News. “Three of those four people got active or suspended jail time. The only person that didn’t was Jay Jones because he’s a politician, and then he did the community service hours…for his own political action committee, which obviously isn’t a charity.”
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According to data reviewed by 7News, Jones appears to have been handled with kid gloves by the court system in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and others who committed similar infractions have faced much steeper consequences.
Reporter Nick Minock found that others who were convicted of similar speeding infractions — in approximately a dozen cases — often faced jail time in addition to fines and suspended licenses.
The text scandal appears to have moved the needle significantly in the race for Virginia attorney general. In polls from June to late September, Jones was leading Miyares consistently, but after the scandal broke, polling has shifted with Miyares now 0.3% ahead of Jones, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has also come under pressure due to the fallout from the texts. Her opponent, Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, released a scathing ad featuring Spanberger refusing to comment when confronted with Jones’ remarks.
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.
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