“Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones wrote, after running a hypothetical about how to allocate two bullets among Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot.
[snip]
The Federalist reached out to each Senate Democrat, asking if they would call for Jones to drop out of the race in light of his violent comments.
Only Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., addressed The Federalist’s inquiry. Though Kaine criticized Jones’ remarks, he also refused to call for him to drop out. “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words, and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades,” Kaine said. “With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it’s up to Virginians to decide.”
[snip]
Other state and U.S. Democrat senators of Virginia have released statements similar to Kaine’s, stopping short of calling on Jones to drop out.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., reportedly described Jones’ comments as “appalling” and “inconsistent with the person I’ve known.”
Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell wrote in a statement that “fantasizing about shooting a legislative colleague — even in a hypothetical scenario — represents a serious lapse in judgment that cannot be defended,” and that Jones “owes Virginians, his former colleagues, and particularly the Gilbert family a full and unconditional apology for these deeply inappropriate comments.” However, Sen. Surovell stopped short of calling for Jones to drop out.
Others, including Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat candidate for Virginia governor, have criticized Jones’ violent statements, again without pulling their support. Meanwhile, multiple Democrat party committees stood by Jones, with the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee statement saying that it “reaffirms its full support of Jay Jones for Attorney General.”
[snip]
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears called Jones’ 2022 comments about Gilbert “wholly disqualifying of someone running for an office that protects the people of Virginia.”
Likewise, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and others have called for Jones to drop out of the race, and Gov. Glen Youngkin, R-Va., said Jones’ remarks are “beyond disqualifying.”
Even the pundits on far-left MSNBC’s Morning Joe stated, “The pressure is going to be on Spanberger” and the Democratic Party to ask Jones “to just quit the race.”
“This guy should do everyone a favor … and step out of the race.”