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Virginia Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones has taken a hit in the polls following the release of text messages he sent fantasizing about the Republican former state House speaker being shot in the head.
The candidate’s unhinged text messages were published in the National Review on Oct. 3 – and internal polling conducted for the Jones campaign between Oct. 4 and Oct. 6 shows the Democrat holding only a slight 1 percentage point lead (46% to 45%) over Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares.
In two polls conducted before Jones’ deranged text messages were brought to light – a Washington Post-Schar School poll and a Christopher Newport University survey – both showed the Democrat up on Miyares by six percentage points.
The new statewide survey, conducted by Hart Research, notes “weekend coverage of Jay Jones’ text messages had an impact on the candidate’s image and to some extent on the attorney general election.”
“Jay’s image has suffered some erosion during the events of the last few days; when asked their impressions of Jay based on what they had read, seen, or heard recently, fully 44% of voters say they feel LESS favorable toward him, compared to 12% more favorable,” the pollster found.
Among Democrats, Jones continued to maintain “solid support,” but Miyares topped the wannabe AG by 1 percentage point in terms of independent voters (42% to 41%).
The pollster noted that Jones’ texting scandal “has had the most impact” on independents, but concluded that the “overall dynamics” in the race “remain unchanged and favorable to Democrats.”
“[W]hile Jay’s solid lead in the past few weeks has been narrowed, there is still a strong path to victory in November,” the Hart Research memo read.
Meanwhile, a survey commissioned by the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) showed Miyares leading Jones by about 2 percentage points (45.8% to 43.7%).
The same pollster found Jones up on Miyares, 46.4% to 42.5%, just a month ago.
The RAGA poll, shared with ABC 7News in Virginia, also found Jones’ unfavorability rating had ballooned from 19% in September to more than 43% since the text scandal.
Jones has been under fire since his disturbing Aug. 8, 2022 text messages to Republican delegate Carrie Coyner were leaked.
In the messages, Jones likened then-Republican state House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass-murdering dictators Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot.
“Three people, two bullets,” read one message. “Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot.”
“Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones continued, later adding: “Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”
Coyner told National Review that Jones went on to fantasize about Gilbert’s children — whom Jones labeled “little fascists” in the text thread — dying in the arms of their mother, so that Gilbert might change his political positions.
The GOP delegate added that Jones is “not qualified to serve.”
Coyner later came forward with allegations that Jones disparaged police officers, telling the Virginia Scope website on Monday that during a 2020 conversation about qualified immunity, she told Jones that without the controversial legal protection, police officers would get killed.
“Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people,” the lawmaker described Jones’ comment in response.
Jones, who previously supported bills to remove qualified immunity while he was still a member of the House of Delegates, has denied the allegation.
He has, however, admitted to sending the disturbing texts about Gilbert and has offered an apology.
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