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An El Salvadoran national who’s been deported from the United States three times was arrested on October 17 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arlington, Virginia, The Daily Wire has learned.
It’s unknown when or where Carlos Ramirez-Guzman entered the country most recently. He was booted from the United States by ICE in 2006, 2014, and again in 2016, and he is currently in the agency’s custody.
In addition to re-entering the country after deportation, Ramirez-Guzman’s criminal charges include “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, domestic battery, exhibition of a dangerous weapon, resisting, obstructing, or opposing a law enforcement officer,” according to a Homeland Security press release.
“Carlos Ramirez-Guzman racked up an extensive criminal history over the last 21 years he has spent ignoring America’s laws,&#8221; DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. &#8220;Not only has this man been removed from our country on THREE previous occasions, but he also has a violent criminal history of assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, domestic battery, and resisting arrest.&#8221;
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem this criminal illegal alien’s crime spree has come to an end. GOOD RIDDANCE, you are not welcome in this country,” McLaughlin added.
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Immigration has also become a hot topic in the Virginia governor’s race, which is next Tuesday.
Northern Virginia has become a hotbed for ICE arrests since efforts started during the second Trump term, including in Arlington and Fairfax counties. While Democratic leaders in the state have pushed back on ICE crackdowns, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an Executive Order in February to allow state and local authorities to help with federal immigration operations.
<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/08/27/spanberger-vows-to-scrap-youngkins-immigration-order-if-elected-governor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Virginia Mercury</a> reported in August that former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee, would “rescind” Youngkin’s aforementioned executive order if she is elected.
“Our borders are a front door, and we have to know who’s coming into the country. Do you mean us good or do you mean us ill? Who are you? Are you running from a murder charge, or are you running to something like liberty, like freedom?” Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who’s the Republican nominee for governor, said on Jillian Michaels’ “Keeping It Real” podcast last week. Earle-Sears legally immigrated to the United States from Jamaica.
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Asylum Seeking Migrants Wait In Line For Immigration Customs Enforcement Appointments

ICE Makes Major Arrest In Northern Virginia As Immigration Becomes Hot Topic In Governor’s Race

abigail spanberger

Immigration

Virginia

Winsome Sears

A Kent County, Virginia, judge has reportedly greenlit a special counsel to take over an investigation into Democratic candidate for state attorney general Jay Jones’ 2022 reckless driving case.
Judge Elliott Bondurant has approved a request from Kent County Commonwealth Attorney Scott Renick, who sought to recuse himself from the investigation because of an unknown conflict, according to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/special-prosecutor-appointed-in-investigation-into-jay-jones-reckless-driving-conviction/">National Review</a>. The special counsel appointment is the latest wrinkle in a case believed to have been settled until Renick’s office revisited it earlier this month.
In 2022, Jones was caught traveling 116 mph in a 70 mph zone. Jones’ avoided jail time, though he was fined $1,500 and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service. In January of 2024, Jones submitted letters to the court that said he completed his community service requirement with 500 hours for the NAACP and 500 hours for Meet Our Moment.
Earlier this month, Renick began looking into how Jones completed his community service hours, according to <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/prosecutor-investigates-jay-jones-community-service-after-reckless-driving-conviction-new-kent-county-commonwealths-attorney-virginia-democrat-candidate">ABC 7</a>.
Meet Our Moment is Jones’ own political action committee, a relationship that was not reflected in the documents Jones submitted to the court to satisfy his community service requirement. The political nature of the group also raises questions about the validity of the time claimed toward his community service requirement, according to ABC 7.
In order to have completed his community service within the timeframe, Jones would have had to work 10 hours every week for each group, all while working full time for the law firm Hogan Lovells, according to National Review. Jones also spent much time in 2023 on the road campaigning for other Democrats.
On Wednesday, Jones’ Republican opponent, state Attorney General Jason Miyares, renewed his call for the Democrat to drop out.
“Jay Jones had already disqualified himself with his violent text messages fantasizing about the death of his political opponent and their young children. Now we learn that he may have misled the courts to avoid jail time after recklessly driving 116 miles per hour on one of the most dangerous stretches of interstate in Virginia,” Miyares said in a statement.
“It is not possible for Jay Jones to fulfill the duties of this office while under an open criminal investigation. If Jay Jones stays in the race, it shows a contempt for voters never seen in modern Virginia political history,” he continued.
Jones has continued to trail Miyares in polls while <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-jay-jones-text-scandal-may-blow-up-dem-chances-in-virginia">dragging</a> down other Democrats in Virginia along with him, after messages Jones sent in 2022 about then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert were revealed. Jones had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-them-virginia-dem-sent-shocking-texts-about-killing-gop-leader-pissing-on-graves">wished</a> harm against Gilbert and his children, saying that, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

Jay Jones

Special Counsel Tapped To Probe Scandal-Plagued Jay Jones Over 2022 Reckless Driving Case

Special Counsel Tapped To Probe Scandal-Plagued Jay Jones’ 2022 Reckless Driving Case

Jason Miyares

Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat candidate seeking to be the next governor of Virginia, has pitched herself as a moderate who opposes &#8220;extremism&#8221; in an attempt to win the purple state. When asked about basic policy positions, she&#8217;s dissembled and deflected, refusing to answer or giving what her opponent has called a &#8220;word salad.&#8221;
But actions speak louder than words, and the former congresswoman has plenty of actions on record. How did she actually vote when taking a stance was part of the job? According to a new study from the Institute for Legislative Analysis, the reality doesn&#8217;t align with the rhetoric.
“Our <a href="https://www.spanbergervotes.com/">analysis</a> makes one thing clear: Abigail Spanberger’s voting record is consistently more aligned with the far-left wing of the Democratic Party,&#8221; Ryan McGowan, CEO of the Institute for Legislative Analysis, told The Daily Wire.
On crime, she held &#8220;extreme progressive&#8221; views, opposing a bill to stop Washington, D.C., from charging 24-year old violent criminals as juveniles — a measure supported by a police union as essential to stopping violent crime. When the D.C. City Council passed reforms that lowered penalties for crimes like carjacking and homicide, D.C.&#8217;s mayor viewed it as so soft-on-crime that she vetoed it.
But the city council overrode the veto, causing Congress to step in to block it. Spanberger <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-joint-resolution/26/all-actions">opposed</a> blocking it, putting her to the left of then-President Joe Biden, who intervened to block the city council&#8217;s move. Many D.C. Democrats now view the city&#8217;s foray into leniency for violent criminals as a major mistake.
At a debate last week, Spanberger claimed that she would never allow Virginia to be a sanctuary state — seemingly a nod to the idea&#8217;s unpopularity — but was vague on specifics, and in other segments of the debate indicated that she would defer to counties to make policy. Virginia&#8217;s most populous counties, which also house most of the illegal immigrants, are controlled by Democrats.
In Congress, Spanberger&#8217;s voting record on immigration was categorized as &#8220;extreme progressive,&#8221; according to the analysis. She opposed the Laken Riley Act, the bill named after a young woman slain by an illegal immigrant which would place violent illegal aliens in federal custody, and the &#8220;Schools Not Shelters Act,&#8221; which would prevent housing illegal immigrants near children. She opposed the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act, which prohibited federal money from housing illegal immigrants, even though Democrats like Marie Perez (D-WA), who caucused for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), supported it.
Virginia is a purple state with a narrowly-divided legislature, but for the last two years, both chambers have been controlled by Democrats. Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has vetoed hundreds of bills that would have otherwise enacted far-Left policy.
Spanberger&#8217;s refusal to call for attorney general candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-virginia-pac-messaged-voters-about-jay-jones-violent-rhetoric-here-are-the-unsettling-responses?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+Virginia+PAC+Messaged+Voters+About+Jay+Jones’+Violent+Rhetoric.+Here+Are+The+Unsettling+Responses.">Jay Jones</a> to drop out of the race after texts emerged of him fantasizing about murdering the family of a Republican have led her opponent, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, to accuse her of lacking &#8220;courage.&#8221; At a debate with Earle-Sears, Spanberger repeatedly dodged the moderator&#8217;s questions about what action — as opposed to mere condemnation — she would take in response to Jones&#8217; texts, and instead blamed Republicans for the texts coming to light before the election.
All of that suggests Spanberger might serve as a rubber-stamp to Democrats in the state legislature — a vastly different party than the one many residents remember after many traditional Democrats were purged in 2019 after being primaried from the Left. The House of Delegates is now run by a convicted crack dealer, Speaker Don Scott.
The analysis of Spanberger&#8217;s voting record in Congress found that in some cases, she took stances that would increase regulations when even far-Left Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MI) did not.
On federal spending, she held a voting record further to the Left than Ocasio-Cortez when it comes to several key votes, according to the Institute&#8217;s analysis. The former CIA operative opposed an amendment offered by Squad member Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) to rein in Pentagon spending on low-priority projects. She opposed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6276/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USE IT Act</a>, which would require the government to sell off buildings that were more than 40% empty — something even Progressive Caucus Chair Andrea Salinas (D-OR) supported.
On national security, she was moderate when it came to terrorism, supporting the designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. But she was further left than Progressive Caucus Democrats when it came to safeguarding the United States from China, according to the study. She opposed a bill to create a Chinese Communist Party Initiative at the Department of Justice to &#8220;curb spying&#8221; — a bill that was supported even by then-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who infamously dated the Chinese spy Fang Fang. She opposed the &#8220;DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act,&#8221; which aimed to stop the Chinese government from setting up outposts in American schools.
On energy, Spanberger opposed a bill ensuring that gas stoves could not be outlawed, a response to a Biden initiative so extreme that the president later rolled it back. She supported an amendment that would ban procuring oil to restock the Strategic Oil Reserve, one supported by even Ocasio-Cortez, and an amendment that would shut down oil and gas production on federal lands, one opposed by Progressive Caucus Democrat Chris Deluzio (R-PA).
When it comes to Virginia&#8217;s congressional delegation, Republicans work across the aisle more frequently than Democrats, according to another <a href="https://www.gopscorecard.com/lawmakers?state=US&amp;year=2024&amp;filter=VA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Institute for Legislative Analysis. Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans broke with President Donald Trump 45% of the time, and every Republican included in the tally broke with him at least 20% of the time, while no Democrat voted with the president more than 8% of the time.

Abigail Spanberger and AOC

Seeking Virginia’s Votes, Spanberger Talks Like A Moderate. That’s Not How She Voted In Congress.

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 <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/jay-joness-gop-opponent-burns-dem-ag-candidate-over-violent-fantasies-he-wouldnt-pass-the-background-check/">America Reports</a>.
During Thursday&#8217;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 <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/virginia-jones-apology-attorney-general-00612739">said</a> on the debate stage — to which Miyares <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFv8bFlgTdw">responded</a> 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jay-jones-walked-on-speeding-charge-that-landed-others-in-jail?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Jay+Jones+Walked+On+Speeding+Charge+That+Landed+Others+In+Jail">data</a> reviewed by <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-residents-jail-time-reckless-driving-jay-jones-community-service-virginia-democrat-attorney-general-candidate-new-kent-county-speeding">7News,</a> 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 <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/attorney-general/general/2025/virginia/miyares-vs-jones">RealClearPolitics</a> 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.

Miyares Blasts Jones After Debate: ‘Wouldn’t Pass Background Check’ To Be ‘Line Prosecutor’

Elections

Fox News

Politics

Templates (9)

LIVE UPDATES: Mamdani, Cuomo, And Sliwa Fight It Out In NYC Mayoral Debate

Andrew Cuomo

New York City

Zohran Mamdani

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger on Thursday, a move Republicans have dismissed as an attempt to distract voters in the waning days of a contentious campaign cycle.
“Virginia’s elections are some of the most important in the country this year, and I am proud to endorse Abigail Spanberger for governor,” Obama said in the advertisement.
“I’m honored to have the endorsement of President Barack Obama,” Spanberger <a href="https://x.com/SpanbergerForVA/status/1978801209579282912">posted on X</a> Thursday. “He knows how high the stakes are on November 4th — and he knows that every vote counts.”
“Abigail Spanberger is trying to distract from her full endorsement of Jay Jones and his violent rhetoric of wanting to murder his political opponents,” Republican Governors Association Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton said in a statement. “Spanberger doesn’t have the courage to stand up to her party, and Virginians see right through it.”
Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ team account posted a GIF of NBA star LeBron James pretending to act scared in response to the Obama endorsement.
“Don’t worry … maybe one day a President will endorse you too,” Spanberger’s campaign account replied.
“Abigail Spanberger is scared and it shows. After losing support across Virginia, she’s leaning on liberal elites to try and save her collapsing campaign. This is a desperate play from a candidate who’s run out of support, out of ideas, and out of time. Voters see through it, and that’s why Winsome Earle-Sears is surging,&#8221; Earle-Sears&#8217; campaign press secretary Peyton Vogel told The Daily Wire in a statement Thursday afternoon.
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The statewide races in Virginia reached a fever pitch after Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, was revealed to have texted a Republican House of Delegates colleague fantasizing about the assassination of the former House of Delegates GOP Speaker and his children in 2022.
Jones has since apologized for the remarks while facing numerous calls to exit the race. In a recent debate, Spanberger said that they are running “individual races” when asked directly if she still backs Jones, but<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spanberger-still-sells-merchandise-with-jay-joness-name-despite-attempts-to-distance-campaigns?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Spanberger+Still+Sells+Merchandise+With+Jay+Jones%E2%80%99s+Name+Despite+Attempts+To+Distance+Campaigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> The Daily Wire</a> reported that bumper stickers and a shirt with “Spanberger-Hashmi-Jones” are still being sold in her campaign store.
Jones and Attorney General Jason Miyares are slated to debate on Thursday night, as that race is also considered extremely close. Virginia’s top statewide offices flipped red in 2021 with the election of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who cannot run for a second consecutive term, Earle-Sears, and Miyares.
Election Day is November 4, but early voting is already underway until November 1. There are only a small number of high-profile races this year, including the governor’s race in New Jersey and the New York City mayoral race, which has its debate tonight.

Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2024 – Day Two

Republicans Brush Off Obama’s Spanberger Endorsement: ‘Trying To Distract’

Barack Obama

Democrats

A Virginia Democrat is attacking the recipient of Democrat Attorney General candidate Jay Jones&#8217; homicidal texts, accusing the moderate Republican of “betrayal” after she confirmed the authenticity of the unsolicited, threatening messages she received from Jones, The Daily Wire has learned.
House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, a convicted crack dealer who Democrats installed as head of the statehouse, has embarked on an unusual effort to unseat Carrie Coyner, a Republican who is viewed as one of the chamber&#8217;s most bipartisan members and whose friendliness with Jones led to him confessing his desire to murder political opponents.
&#8220;I&#8217;m Speaker Don Scott. I&#8217;m here to tell you, Carrie Coyner is no moderate. She&#8217;s a MAGA Republican, blocking our agenda for Virginia families. Carrie Coyner has betrayed us too many times,&#8221; he said in an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EWrKHZar5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ad posted Tuesday</a> by the campaign of Lindsey Dougherty, who is running to unseat Coyner in her Chesterfield, Virginia, district.
Scott went so far as to speak at a church in Coyner&#8217;s district on October 5, telling congregants using the pulpit to minimize Jones&#8217; homicidal ideation and electioneer against Coyner, again accusing her of betrayal and linking it to the text messages. Coyner &#8220;has done nothing but try to betray the agenda that we&#8217;ve tried to move forward,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We can&#8217;t get distracted because they want us to get distracted by the text message here.&#8221;
Coyner told the Virginia Scope that Scott&#8217;s church appearance was &#8220;intimidating,&#8221; adding, &#8220;I didn&#8217;t do anything wrong in this, and I was honest when asked.&#8221; She and Gilbert did not return requests for comment from The Daily Wire.
<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/dem-ag-nominee-jay-jones-fantasized-about-shooting-former-virginia-gop-speaker-he-receives-both-bullets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Review</a> upended Virginia&#8217;s election cycle after reporting that in 2022, Jones had texted Coyner, at the time his colleague in the House of Delegates, about how he would rather kill then-Republican speaker Todd Gilbert than Hitler, and how he fantasized about seeing Gilbert&#8217;s children, whom he described as &#8220;little fascists,&#8221; die in their mother&#8217;s arms.
The story suggested that Coyner was not the source, but that she had sent screenshots of the conversation to others shortly after receiving them, and she confirmed their authenticity to National Review when asked. The story says Jones called Coyner to double down on the sentiments expressed in the text, which the outlet attributes to a third party with knowledge of the call.
When Democrats took control of the House, Gilbert, the Republican House Speaker whom Jones wanted dead, was replaced by Scott, the allegedly reformed crack dealer. This year, Jones went from being an obscure legislator to a candidate for attorney general, running against incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican.
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Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and lieutenant governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi, have refused to rescind their endorsements of Jones or call for him to step down from the race. They have said they condemn the texts, which Jones has apologized for. But efforts to target the perceived source of the revelation raise questions about whether they&#8217;re actually only angry that the public learned about them.
Scott did not reply to The Daily Wire&#8217;s questions asking whether the ad was retaliation for Coyner&#8217;s role in the Jones scandal, whether he thinks she handled it well, when and why he decided to get involved in her race, and how many other candidates he has cut ads for.
On October 6, the <a href="https://www.virginiascope.com/coyner-says-jones-told-her-in-a-2020-phone-call-that-a-few-police-officers-dying-would-stop-them-from-killing-other-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia Scope</a> published an interview with Coyner in which she elaborated on a reference Jones made in his texts to having &#8220;told you this before.&#8221; She said that in 2020, Jones wanted to change the law so that police officers could be personally sued by alleged criminals, while Coyner opposed it. She said Jones told her, &#8220;maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.&#8221; Jones denied making the statement, according to the Virginia Scope.
Coyner told the Virginia Scope that she had nothing to do with the release of the texts and did not know about their release until contacted by National Review. Before Jones apologized, he doubled down and claimed he was being &#8220;smeared&#8221; by his opponent, Miyares, even though Miyares had said that he, too, had nothing to do with the texts making their way to the media.
Scott&#8217;s campaign to oust Coyner is especially curious because Coyner has frequently worked with Democrats in the legislature, including Scott&#8217;s close ally and Senate leader Louise Lucas, to make community college classes free for high schoolers. According to the <a href="https://www.vpap.org/general-assembly/legislators-caucus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia Public Access Project</a>, Coyner broke ranks to vote with Democrats more than any other Republican. No Democrat was as bipartisan as she was, according to the data.
Yet even as Virginia Democrats have tried to win a purple state with messaging opposing &#8220;extremists,&#8221; the fact pattern suggests that some have contempt for all Republicans, however moderate. Jones’ infamous rageful texts were spurred by then-Republican Speaker Gilbert saying kind things about a Democrat who had died. &#8220;If those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves,&#8221; he said.
In the gubernatorial debate on October 9, Spanberger&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-dem-hits-opponent-saying-something-dumb-she-was-quoting-kamala?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Virginia+Dem+Hits+Opponent+For+Saying+Something+Dumb.+She+Was+Quoting+Kamala+Harris.">response</a> when asked about the Jones texts was to blame Republicans. She obfuscated when asked by the moderator whether she still endorsed Jones, given the texts. After the moderator noted that Spanberger was dodging the question, she said Republicans &#8220;held them for years so the public was unaware who had knowledge of these text messages.&#8221;
That apparent victim-blaming comes despite the fact that Coyner appears to have not told the public about the text messages precisely because she was collegial and forgiving. On top of that, the suggestion that Democrat legislators could only know how Jones felt about Republicans by hearing it from Republicans calls for believing that Jones was more open with his opponents than he was with his Democratic colleagues.
Republicans have continued to show compassion even as Democrats refuse to denounce a candidate who called for violence against Republicans. This month, a Democrat statehouse member, Candi Mundon King, had a daughter die. Gilbert, whose kind words for another deceased Democrat triggered Jones&#8217; rage, offered condolences again, saying, &#8220;May God wrap his arms around Delegate Mundon King.&#8221; But on the same weekend that her daughter died, King reposted on social media a call for &#8220;punishing Confederates and <a href="https://x.com/lukerosiak/status/1975212586024177761/photo/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">erasing them</a>&#8221; and &#8220;punishing trump &amp; his MAGAt accomplices.&#8221;
Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Eugene Vindman, both Virginia Democrats, are set to <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sdc1017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appear alongside</a> Jones at a fundraiser in Fredericksburg on Friday.
Virginia Congressman <a href="https://x.com/oconnor_reports/status/1978144917575589985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Don Beyer</a> (D-VA) said he &#8220;very much hopes [Jones] prevails,&#8221; claiming that Jones&#8217; express fantasies about murdering the family of a political rival are &#8220;no worse than what Donald Trump says almost every day.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-dems-say-candidate-who-fantasized-about-murdering-gop-leader-is-better-than-republicans">Virginia Dems Say ‘Our Democracy’ Depends On Voting For Candidate Who Fantasized About Assassination</a>

Don Scott and Jay Jones

‘BETRAYED’: Virginia’s House Speaker Targets Recipient Of Jay Jones’s Violent Texts

Mark Warner

Terrorism

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger’s campaign store still sells merchandise boasting of her connection with embattled attorney general nominee Jay Jones, despite her recent efforts to separate the two campaigns.
A “Spanberger-Hashmi-Jones” shirt and a bumper sticker were listed on the campaign store as of Wednesday morning. Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to The Daily Wire’s inquiry on whether the items would remain on the website. Jones is facing intense controversy following the release of text messages in which he called for the deaths of a political opponent and his children.
During a recent debate with her Republican opponent, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanberger attempted to distance herself from Jones.
“We are all running our individual races,” Spanberger said when asked to answer “yes or no” if she still endorsed Jones, adding that it’s up to voters to “make their own decision.”
“I am running my race to serve Virginia and that is what I intend to do,” she added.
The Republican Governors Association said that the merchandise still being listed shows cozy ties between the Democrats running for high-profile offices in the commonwealth.
Spanberger “is still selling Jay Jones merchandise. A man who fantasized about murdering his political opponents and their children,” the group posted to X on Tuesday. “Spanberger still fully endorses Jay Jones!”
Following the debate, Earle-Sears tweeted that “Abigail Spanberger had three chances to call on Jay Jones to drop out—and she couldn’t do it. Three chances to show courage and she failed every one.”
Earlier this month, National Review reported on texts Jones sent to a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2022 regarding former Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican who held the position at the time.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones said in one of the messages.
Jones is running against incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, and some critics have called on the Democrat to exit the race.
“Jay Jones wished for the violent death of a political opponent and then fantasized about that opponent’s children dying in their mother’s arms,” Miyares wrote in a statement in light of the text scandal. “When confronted, he doubled down, saying that kind of grief and pain would be a good thing if it advanced his politics. And politics aside, one has to be coming from a dark place to advocate the murder of a colleague and their family. This conduct is disqualifying.”
Jones previously released a statement apologizing for the texts. Election Day is November 4 in Virginia, but early voting has already kicked off.

Abigail Spanberger Campaigns For Re-Election In Prince William County, VA

Spanberger Still Sells Merchandise With Jay Jones’s Name Despite Attempts To Distance Campaigns

gubernatorial race

A senior State Department adviser who had repeatedly met with Chinese government officials was arrested after investigators discovered more than a thousand pages of classified documents at his home, according to the FBI.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that 64-year-old Ashley Tellis was arrested by the FBI over the weekend and charged with the unlawful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Tellis has worked for the State Department since 2001 and has a Top Secret security clearance.
An FBI raid of his Vienna, Virginia, home on October 11 found more than 1,000 pages of documents marked “Top Secret” or “Secret,” according to an FBI <a href="https://ecf.vaed.uscourts.gov/doc1/189114572546">affidavit</a>. The document also said that Tellis had met with Chinese government officials to discuss international affairs and received a red gift bag at one such meeting. 
“We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic. The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
Tellis, an expert on India and South Asian affairs, is a naturalized American citizen who was born and raised in India. He had been a contractor for the Office of Net Assessment at the Pentagon and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
&#8220;Ashley J. Tellis is a widely respected scholar and senior policy advisor. At the next court hearing in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday and in our related filings on Monday, we will be vigorously contesting the allegations brought against him, specifically any insinuation of his operating on behalf of a foreign adversary,&#8221; lawyers for Tellis said in a statement to The Daily Wire. 
On September 12, the affidavit says that surveillance footage captured Tellis arriving at a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility at a Pentagon building in Alexandria, Virginia, where he “had a co-worker print multiple classified documents for him that day.” Later, after he had left, investigators found a document marked “TOP SECRET” in a file folder at a cubicle used by Tellis, the FBI said. He returned on October 10, allegedly putting the documents into his briefcase before leaving the building. 
In a different instance, Tellis entered a State Department building on September 25 and printed hundreds of pages of secret information on Air Force techniques and procedures, the affidavit says. He also printed additional information on military aircraft capabilities, according to the FBI. 
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“The documents were generally found in four locations: (1) a four-drawer locked filing cabinet in a closet in the basement home office area; (2) a two-drawer locked filing cabinet in the basement home office area; (3) in the vicinity of a desk in the basement home office area; and (4) in three large black trash bags in an unfinished storage room in the basement,” the affidavit says. 
The FBI also said that Tellis had multiple meetings with Chinese officials at Northern Virginia restaurants from September 15, 2022, to September 2, 2025. 
The first meeting occurred at a restaurant in Fairfax when Tellis allegedly arrived with a manila envelope, and Chinese officials arrived with a “gift bag,” according to the affidavit. Tellis left without the manila envelope, the FBI said.
During a different meeting in Fairfax on April 11, 2023, Tellis allegedly discussed Iran-China relations and artificial intelligence. On March 19, 2024, Tellis was overheard talking about America’s relationship with Pakistan with Chinese officials, according to the affidavit. 
At the most recent meeting, Tellis was given a red gift bag by Chinese officials on September 2 in Fairfax, according to the FBI.
If convicted, Tellis could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Profile Shoot Of Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate With Carnegie Endowment For International Peace

State Dept Insider Charged Under Espionage Act After Mishandling Secret Docs, Meetings With China

Communist China

Crime

Pentagon

State Department

President Donald Trump awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, New York Attorney General Letitia James&#8217; grandniece may be a fugitive from the law, and the U.K.&#8217;s Labour Party turns to digital ID to curb illegal immigration.
It’s Wednesday, October 15, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Awards Charlie Kirk The Highest Civilian Honor</h2>
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Topline: President Trump posthumously honored Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, with the country’s highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In front of a large audience in the Rose Garden, the president presented the award to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. The event was attended by many family members, friends, and acquaintances of Kirk from within the administration, Kirk’s conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and elsewhere.
“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion. He was a champion in every way — I got to know him so well,” said Trump. “It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder. He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country, and that’s why this afternoon, it’s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Erika Kirk also spoke at the event.
“Today, we’re gathered not only to celebrate Charlie’s birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that’s freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said.
“Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment; they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man’s invention, they are God’s endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises,” she added.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Letitia James’s Fugitive Family Member</h2>
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Topline: New York Attorney General Letitia James may have sheltered a fugitive in her Virginia home for the past five years. 
James was charged with bank fraud last week for allegedly lying on mortgage papers to get a lower interest rate on a house in Virginia. While James owns the home, the current tenant is her grandniece, Nakia Thompson, and her three children, who have lived in the house since 2020. 
Thompson is officially listed as an “absconder” in the database of North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15187603/letitia-james-niece-virginia-home-fugitive.html">Daily Mail</a>. She’s wanted by authorities in Forsyth County for skipping out on her probation.
A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections said Thompson was “sentenced to probation for misdemeanor convictions for assault and battery and trespassing.” He confirmed that she is considered a fugitive from the state, but he added that because her crimes are considered low-level, she is “non-extraditable.”
Won’t stay silent: In opposition to the standard legal advice to keep quiet after being charged with a crime, James is loudly speaking out against the Department of Justice, claiming to be a victim of a political prosecution.
“We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and, yes, weaponize justice for political gain. We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” said James at a rally for New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani on Monday evening.
Limiting her ability to attract supporters to her cause, James is perceived widely on the right to be guilty of pushing the same kind of political prosecutions she is now denouncing. James campaigned for New York attorney general on a platform of investigating President Trump.
After winning her election, James eventually pursued Trump on a civil charge related to defrauding banks, though no banks claimed to have ever been defrauded by Trump. James won the case in a bench trial, and Trump was hit with a civil penalty of nearly half a billion dollars. That penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court in a major victory for the president.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.K.’s Labour Turns To Digital ID To Curb Illegal Immigration</h2>
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Topline: The U.K. recently approved a controversial new law that mandates a digital ID as a way to curb illegal immigration. Morning Wire spoke with Guy Dampier, senior researcher on nationhood at the Prosperity Institute, about the new law. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: So, Guy, a lot of frustration boiling over in the U.K. right now over immigration, and now we have this heated debate over digital ID. Let’s start with Prime Minister Starmer – he’s defending his party’s immigration policies and accusing the conservative Reform party of pushing supposedly “racist” policies. Catch us up, what’s the story here?
Dampier: The issue is Reform’s policy on residency for immigrants. &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; means that an immigrant can, after five years, get access to the same welfare benefits as a British citizen. The vast majority of people who get ILR will stay forever. That matters because in the last few years, there was an immigration wave of around 4 million people. Most of those were low-skilled and will be a drain on the taxpayer. One estimate said that it would cost around £80 billion, another said over £200 billion. Whatever the true figure is, it will be a huge cost at a time when the British economy is doing very badly. Reform have announced that they will abolish ILR, forcing those who have come to apply for new visas, which will include new checks on their qualifications and language skills. That also matters because the current rules are incredibly lax. The language test only requires that you have B1 English, which is enough to struggle through a book for small children, but nowhere near enough what you need just to read a newspaper. As most of these 4 million migrants come from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, Labour have branded it “racist.” 
Morning Wire: Now, the Labour Party has actually also admitted that this &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; law needs to be reformed. What are they suggesting?
Dampier: This is why it is so incoherent. They were calling Nigel Farage racist. On Monday, they announced policies that were not a million miles away. The Home Secretary, Shababa Mahmood, has said that immigrants who want residency will now need better English skills, no criminal record, and evidence that they have volunteered in the community to show that they are integrating. The problem for Labour is that while they want to win over voters who are upset about immigration, they don’t really believe in reducing immigration. So they end up promising things they won’t deliver, and then when they get called out, they lash out. The problem for Britain is very simple: the country has become rapidly more foreign, with over 16% of people born overseas. Most of those came in the last few decades or even the last few years. This is changing the face of the country: around 38% of school children are now from an ethnic minority group. At the same time the economy has ground to a halt. And there is increasing evidence that migrants are overrepresented when it comes to accessing welfare and committing crime. So people are asking a simple question: if we want fewer immigrants, and if immigration isn’t good for the economy, then why are politicians refusing to seriously reduce the numbers?
Morning Wire: As we mentioned at the top, we also have this new digital ID that’s supposed to help crack down on illegal workers. But that has been very controversial. How would that work?
Dampier: This is the so-called Brit card. Labour have long been advocates for digital ID. In fact, the last Labour government, over a decade ago actually introduced ID cards. But they were immediately scrapped by the conservative government which followed them. Labour are now arguing that it would stop illegal immigrants from being able to work and rent. But there is already a digital Visa verification system which is supposed to do this. It just isn’t adhered to. There’s no reason to think that this would be any different. In fact, there are many European countries which already have ID cards and still have a major problem with illegal immigration. In Germany, for example, you are supposed to carry your ID card with you everywhere. But the country has one of the highest numbers of illegal immigrants in all of Europe. This won’t really fix the problem. What it will do is add on another layer of bureaucracy and further reduce the freedom of native British people. There is also another potential danger. Paul Mason, a well-known Labour activist who is close to the senior leadership of the party, suggested that digital ID could be used to help regularise the illegal immigrants who are already here. That is somewhere between 3/4 of 1 million and 2 million people. Instead of discouraging illegal immigration, it could end up being used to reward it.

MRN_251015_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Kirk, Letitia James Accused Of Housing Fugitive, UK Advances Digital ID

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Charlie Kirk, Letitia James’ Crime Family, And UK Digital ID

Charlie Kirk

Donald Trump

Keir Starmer

Letitia James

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White House

After Virginia’s Republican candidate for governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, left her Democratic opponent, Abigail Spanberger, on the ropes in a debate last week, Sears came out with a devastating ad: A full minute-long clip from the debate of Spanberger staring ahead silently, unwilling to answer the moderator’s question about whether she endorses attorney general candidate Jay Jones despite his homicidal comments against Republicans.
“We’re talking about murder … have you nothing to say about that?” Sears prodded.
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Abigail Spanberger’s silence says it all. <a href="https://t.co/orrgAzULKK">pic.twitter.com/orrgAzULKK</a>
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) <a href="https://twitter.com/winwithwinsome/status/1976687770870612056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Spanberger’s retort? An ad that mocks Sears for interrupting her during the debate. The ad featured an old clip of Sears shouting with a strange affect, “I am speaking!” The clip — which Spanberger has used in other ads this cycle — plays four times in one ad, even though it didn’t come from the debate.
There’s just one problem: Earle-Sears wasn’t actually making that assertion; she was mocking Democrat Kamala Harris, whom Spanberger supported. In fact, it’s a famous Harris quote, one that her supporters praised as an example of a strong feminist.
Democrats portrayed Harris telling Mike Pence, “I’m speaking,” during their 2020 vice presidential debate as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXFqTGBty1w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlight</a> of the debate. There’s even a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Im-Speaking-Strength-Wisdom-President/dp/1250278414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book</a> titled “I’m Speaking: Words of Strength and Wisdom from Kamala Harris.” She used the line again to applause last year to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOqTAWml658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shut down protesters</a> chanting at her rally.
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So even as Sears rolled out ad after ad that criticized Spanberger by showing her responses when asked about policy positions, the most damaging thing Spanberger could attribute to Sears, even after four years as lieutenant governor, was something that was actually said by the Democrats’ presidential nominee, with Spanberger falsely giving the impression that it was a Sears quote.
Spanberger appears to view Harris’s famous quote as so idiotic that she has played it on a near-loop in multiple different ads, even before the debate. An earlier ad plays the clip four times.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨NEW AD: At every turn, <a href="https://twitter.com/winwithwinsome?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@winwithwinsome</a> chooses her loyalty to Trump over what’s best for Virginia. <a href="https://t.co/gWUGYcGGWX">pic.twitter.com/gWUGYcGGWX</a>
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpanbergerForVA/status/1975557808998522915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The clip comes from a September 2, 2024 <a class="c-link" href="https://x.com/bluevirginia/status/1830954208809386440" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://x.com/bluevirginia/status/1830954208809386440" data-sk="tooltip_parent">speech</a> where Sears was being heckled. Sears diverted from her speech after she said a heckler told her to go back to Jamaica, where she was born. &#8220;I understand that y’all are the tolerant people. So I want to know. I just want to be sure because the vice president’s father was from Jamaica,&#8221; she said, before breaking into a Harris imitation.
So according to Sears, a Democrat made a racist comment to her, which she objected to. Then Spanberger stripped it of its context and used it to portray Sears as rude and angry. The image of Sears as angry black woman is one Virginia Democrats have repeatedly returned to. The Powhatan County Democratic Party posted a cartoon of Sears angrily jumping up and down and shrieking, before deleting it and apologizing for “racist overtones.”
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Virginia <a href="https://twitter.com/Powhatan_Dems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Powhatan_Dems</a> are extremely hateful ~ 
They knew it was wrong before they posted it. 
Now, it&#8217;s out there forever.<a href="https://t.co/vXYtSKQjCS">https://t.co/vXYtSKQjCS</a>
— Words_of_Faith (@WordsofFaithTo1) <a href="https://twitter.com/WordsofFaithTo1/status/1977494635770736710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Overt racism has been seen on the campaign trail against Earle-Sears, a U.S. Marine veteran who immigrated as a young child from Jamaica. In October, an elderly white Democratic woman held a sign that said, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.”
Spanberger and Lieutenant Governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi have stood by Jay Jones despite text messages in which he said of Republican former state House Speaker Todd Gilbert, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” and hoped to see Gilbert’s children die to make the family “feel pain.” What angered Jones was Gilbert’s kind words about a Democrat, which Jones viewed as signifying that the Democrat was too moderate.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-dems-say-candidate-who-fantasized-about-murdering-gop-leader-is-better-than-republicans">Virginia Dems Say ‘Our Democracy’ Depends On Voting For Candidate Who Fantasized About Assassination</a>

Abigail Spanberger debates Winsome Sears / NBC

Virginia Dem Hits Opponent For Saying Something Dumb. She Was Quoting Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris

Democrat Jay Jones’ texting scandal is threatening to sink Democrats’ chances in the gubernatorial race for the commonwealth of Virginia, according to pollster Brent Buchanan.
Buchanan, founder and president of the polling firm Cygnal, said Jones’ August 2022 texts, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-them-virginia-dem-sent-shocking-texts-about-killing-gop-leader-pissing-on-graves">wished</a> harm against a state GOP lawmaker, have flipped typical election dynamics to drag down other Democrats on the ballot. The scandal, as well as Democrats’ failure to condemn transgender ideology, has given Republicans an edge in a couple of campaign fundamentals.
“There are some key fundamentals to any political campaign, and that is money, message, and messenger. The message and messenger is on the Republican side, but the money&#8217;s on the Democratic side right now,” Buchanan said in an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OguDc-ZXdE">Morning Wire</a> that aired on Monday.
Jones is running to be the state’s next attorney general, and since his texts were made public earlier this month, he has <a href="https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/1976049690173907312">fallen</a> behind Republican incumbent Jason Miyares. But over the same timeframe, the fallout has appeared to spread to other races as well, as former Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s lead over Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in the governor&#8217;s race has shrunk.
“Normally, governor&#8217;s races drive down-ballot races, and because of the scandal with Democrat Jay Jones and his text messages and the fact that no Democrats are coming out and saying that he should resign, drop out of the race, it&#8217;s really flipped the race on its head,” the pollster said.
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“The proof that it&#8217;s affecting the governor&#8217;s race is that, in September, we had Winsome Earle-Sears down by seven, and now have her only down by four-and-a-half,” said Buchanan. “I know that doesn&#8217;t sound huge, but when you consider how much money has been spent by the Democrats, and little in comparison by Sears, it&#8217;s essentially proof that the [attorney general] race is driving the governor&#8217;s race now.”
Spanberger may have much more to lose before the election, scheduled to take place on November 4.
“What&#8217;s fascinating is, we polled right after Labor Day,” Buchanan said, “one of the things we found in the survey is that there&#8217;s a huge swath of voters in Virginia who still have not heard about these text messages.”
In addition to the text messages, Spanberger may also suffer from her messaging around transgenderism. In a Virginia governor&#8217;s race debate last week, Spanberger evaded weighing in on debates over school bathroom and locker room policies regarding students who identify as transgender. Spanberger repeatedly said it was an issue to be taken up locally.
“The transgender issue is popping its head back up,” said Buchanan. “The culture wars are what won Donald Trump the 2024 election, and I think we&#8217;re seeing that play itself out again in 2025 as if Democrats just can&#8217;t learn the lesson.”
“Republicans are firing on all cylinders right now, making sure that this is the one issue being spoken about in paid advertising. The challenge is that Democrats still have a very large spending advantage,” he added.

Here’s How Jay Jones Text Scandal May Blow Up Dem Chances In Virginia

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