Meet the Democrats Who Still Endorse Jay Jones After Remarks About Wanting a GOP Leader and His Children Dead

Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones continues to hold nearly 200 endorsements from organizations, elected officials, and prominent Democrats, several days after text messages resurfaced from 2022 in which he discussed shooting former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and referenced his children dying. As of Monday, October 6, none of his endorsers have withdrawn their alignment or publicly called for him to drop out of the race. The fallout erupted late last week after National Review published messages between Jones and Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner. In the texts, Jones wrote that if faced with a choice between shooting two dictators or Gilbert, he would “pick Gilbert every time.” Coyner confirmed that Jones also referenced Gilbert’s children dying “in the arms of their mother.” Jones later apologized, saying he was “deeply sorry” and took “full responsibility” for his comments. Since the report, calls for Jones to withdraw have come from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor. Earle-Sears released an ad Sunday featuring Democratic support of Jones and urging voters to “reject the insanity.” Trump endorsed incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares, describing Jones’s statements as “sick and demented,” while Miyares called them “disqualifying.” His campaign website continues to feature backing from national figures, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former Virginia Gov. Ralph S. Northam, former first ladies Dorothy McAuliffe and Pamela Northam, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA), and former Reps. Elaine Luria and Tom Perriello. He is endorsed by the following members of the Virginia General Assembly: Sen. Lashrecse Aird – Petersburg Sen. Lamont Bagby – Henrico Sen. Barbara Favola – Arlington Sen. Mamie Locke – Hampton (Chair, Senate Democratic Caucus) Sen. Jeremy McPike – Prince William Sen. Stella Pekarsky – Fairfax Sen. Russet Perry – Loudoun Sen. Kannan Srinivasan – Loudoun Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg – Henrico Sen. Angelia Williams Graves – Norfolk Del. Alex Askew – Virginia Beach Del. Bonita Anthony – Norfolk Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling – Henrico Del. David Bulova – Fairfax Del. Katrina Callsen – Charlottesville Del. Nadarius Clark – Suffolk Del. Laura Jane Cohen – Fairfax Del. Joshua Cole – Stafford Del. Rae Cousins – Richmond Del. Karrie Delaney – Fairfax Del. Michael Feggans – Virginia Beach Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler – Virginia Beach Del. Debra Gardner – Chesterfield Del. Cliff Hayes – Chesapeake Del. Dan Helmer – Fairfax Del. Rozia Henson – Prince William Del. Phil Hernandez – Norfolk Del. Patrick Hope – Arlington Del. Michael Jones – Richmond Del. Alfonso Lopez – Arlington Del. Candi Mundon King – Prince William Del. Paul Krizek – Fairfax Del. Michelle Maldonado – Prince William Del. Adele McClure – Arlington Del. Marcia Price – Newport News Del. Sam Rasoul – Roanoke Del. Atossa Reaser – Loudoun Del. David Reid – Loudoun Del. Holly Seibold – Fairfax Del. Briana Sewell – Prince William Del. Irene Shin – Fairfax Del. Marcus Simon – Fairfax Del. Shelly Simonds – Newport News Del. JJ Singh – Loudoun Del. Josh Thomas – Prince William Del. Luke Torian – Prince William Former Members of the Virginia General Assembly Former Del. Ward Armstrong – Martinsville Former Del. Dick Cranwell – Vinton Former Del. Jeff Bourne – Richmond Former Del. Sally Hudson – Charlottesville Former Del. Chris Hurst – Blacksburg Former Del. Mike Mullin – Newport News Former Del. Kathleen Murphy – Fairfax Daun Hester – Former Vice Mayor and Delegate, Norfolk Martha Mugler – City Council and Former Delegate, Hampton Former Del. David Toscano – Charlottesville Roslyn Tyler – School Board and Former Delegate, Sussex Local Elected Officials Andreas Addison – Former City Council, Richmond Walter Alcorn – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax Kenny Alexander – Mayor, Norfolk Sandy Anderson – School Board, Fairfax Victor Angry – Board of Supervisors, Prince William Andrea Bailey – Board of Supervisors, Prince William Dana Barakat – Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Fairfax Joe Baron – Sheriff, Norfolk Mary Benjamin – School Board, Dinwiddie Jimmy Bierman – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax Mary Biggs – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Montgomery Kenny Boddye – Board of Supervisors, Prince William John Chapman – City Council, Alexandria Carlos Clanton – City Council, Norfolk Maureen Coffey – County Board, Arlington Susan Cunningham – County Board, Arlington Matt de Ferranti – Vice Chair, County Board, Arlington Parisa Dehghani-Tafti – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Arlington and Falls Church Steve Descano – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Fairfax Todd Divers – Commissioner of the Revenue, Charlottesville Courtney Doyle – City Council, Norfolk Frankie Edmondson – Commissioner of the Revenue, Portsmouth Robert Elliott Jr. – Chairman, Board of Supervisors, Surry Ramin Fatehi – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Norfolk Paul Fraim – Former Mayor, Norfolk Margaret Franklin – Board of Supervisors, Prince William Karl Frisch – Chair, School Board, Fairfax James Gray – Mayor, Hampton Letty Hardi – Mayor, Falls Church Rachna Sizemore Heizer – School Board, Fairfax James Hingeley – Commonwealth’s Attorney, Albemarle Deshundra Jefferson – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Prince William Andres Jimenez – Board of Supervisors, Fairfax Mamie Johnson – City Council, Norfolk Takis Karantonis – Chair, County Board, Arlington Phil Kellam – Commissioner of the Revenue, Virginia Beach Derek Kitts – Board of Supervisors, Montgomery Ann Frances Lambert – Former City Council, Richmond Sherman Lea – Former Mayor, Roanoke Sonia Vasquez Luna – City Council, Manassas Stephanie Lynch – City Council, Richmond Jeremy McGee – City Council, Norfolk Melanie Meren – School Board, Fairfax Jordan Miles – Board of Supervisors, Buckingham Gabe Morgan – Sheriff, Newport News Ross Mugler – Commissioner of the Revenue, Hampton Paul Mullin – Treasurer, Petersburg Neal Osborne – City Council, Former Mayor, Bristol JP Paige – City Council, Norfolk Amanda Pohl – Clerk of Court, Chesterfield Mike Pruitt – Board of Supervisors, Albemarle Jose Quiroz – Sheriff, Arlington Phyllis Randall – Chair, Board of Supervisors, Loudoun Deanna Reed – Mayor, Harrisonburg Randy Riffle – School Board, Williamsburg Danica Royster – Former City Council, Norfolk Koran Saines – Board of Supervisors, Loudoun Jessica Schneider – Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield Blythe Scott – Commissioner of the Revenue, Norfolk Annette Smith-Lee – City Council, Petersburg Julius D. “JD” Spain Sr. – School Board, Arlington Zuraya Tapia-Hadley – School Board, Arlington Martin Thomas Jr. – Vice Mayor, Norfolk Ella Ward – City Council, Chesapeake Trish White-Boyd – Former City Council, Roanoke Misty Whitehead – Board of Supervisors, Henrico Liam Watson – Town Council, Blacksburg Major labor unions and advocacy organizations have also maintained their endorsements. Labor Unions American Federation of Government Employees – RISE SEIU Virginia State Council UNITE HERE! UA Local 10 (Richmond & Roanoke) UA Local 5 (Washington, DC, area) LiUNA! (Laborers’ International Union of North America) Teamsters Union Professional Fire Fighters of Virginia Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF) Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO UA Steamfitters Local 602 Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 110 United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2068 Virginia Machinists Council Virginia Association of Letter Carriers Advocacy and Issue-Based Organizations Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Giffords PAC End Citizens United Freedom Virginia Sierra Club Virginia Chapter New Virginia Majority Reproductive Freedom for All REPRO Rising Virginia PAC Roe Your Vote Virginia Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate 2025 Virginians for Change – Action Against Gun Violence Committee to Protect Health Care Care in Action Black Men Vote PAC Clean Virginia The Collective PAC Virginia LGBT+ Democrats Professional Fire Fighters of Virginia (also labor) AAUP (American Association of University Professors) National Organization for Women – Virginia Chapter Jewish Dems People for the American Way Prevent Gun Tragedies PAC VEA Votes 2025 (Virginia Education Association political arm) The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee reaffirmed its “full support” for Jones in an October 4, 2025, press release, describing recent coverage as “spotlighting past mistakes” and asserting that Jones had “taken responsibility, apologized, and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability.” The committee contrasted Jones with Attorney General Jason Miyares, accusing him of failing to stand up for Virginia families’ concerns or values, defend women’s reproductive and workers’ rights, or protect Virginians at risk of losing access to health care. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) also promoted Jones in an October 5 post on X, encouraging Virginians to vote for “Democrats up and down the ballot.” Delegate Melody Cartwright (D-48) posted, “I stand with @jonesjay. Period. End of statement.” The resurfaced comments have further intensified Virginia’s political climate, already charged by the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk last month and debates over political violence. Gov. Youngkin said Democrats are “acting as if [Jones’s comments] are nothing,” and reiterated his call for Jones to “resign, step down, and get out of the race.” Jones has denied claims from Coyner that he once stated “more police should die” during a 2020 policy debate, calling the allegation false and asserting he has “never believed and does not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement.” As of Monday night, no Democratic organization or individual listed among Jones’s endorsers has rescinded their support or issued public criticism. The election for Virginia’s attorney general will take place in less than a month.