GOP unveils 7-figure ad campaign on "two bullets" text by Jay Jones
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Jay Jones campaigns in June. Photo: Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The campaign of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is launching a $1.5 million ad buy over text messages his opponent Jay Jones sent in 2022.
Why it matters: National and state Republicans are convinced that the text messages will allow Miyares to hold onto the AG position in an off-year cycle in Virginia that typically punishes the party that controls the White House.
- "Three people, two bullets," Jones, a former state representative, wrote in August 2022 about State House Speaker Todd Gilbert in a text exchange with a Republican state representative. "Gilbert gets two bullets to the head."
- National Review first reported on Friday about the text messages, which Axios has independently verified.
- "He probably should be forced to withdraw from the race," Joe Scarborough said on MSNBC. "And probably is doing a lot there."
Driving the news: The new ad will hit the airwaves Monday afternoon on broadcast, cable and digital and will run for a week.
- "The Washington Post confirms: Jay Jones sent texts that imagined shooting the Republican Speaker of the House," a female narrator says. "It's so disgusting but it's true."
Zoom in: Jones acknowledged having sent the text on Friday.
- "I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry," Jones said in a statement.
- "I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology."
The intrigue: The $1.5 million ad buy for one week is the smallest ad reservation that the Miyares campaign has for the remaining four weeks in the race, according to a person familiar with the matter.
What we're watching: The Democrat's nominee for governor, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, said she "made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words.
- But she has not called for him to drop out.
- Spanberger leads her GOP opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears 55%-43% in the latest Washington Post poll.
- Jones leads Miyares 51%-45% in the poll, conducted in late September, well before the Jones text messages came out.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Jones is a former (not current) state representative.
