Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones addresses a Petersburg Democratic Committee banquet Oct. 2, 2025, at the Petersburg Public Library.

Jay Jones, whose Democratic candidacy for attorney general in Virginia is embroiled in a text scandal, apologized to "every single Virginian" on Oct. 16.

“Let me be clear: I am ashamed. I am embarrassed. And I am sorry," Jones said about the texts during a debate at the University of Richmond.

The race between Jones and GOP Attorney Jason Miyares is important because Virginia the winner is considered a likely front-runner for governor in four years. The state’s off-year election is often a bellwether for congressional midterm elections the following year.

Jones criticized Miyares as "too weak" and "too scared" to stand up to President Donald Trump. Jones said Miyares wouldn't challenge Trump for layoffs of federal workers, for mposing tariffs on imports or for deploying the National Guard.

"The stakes could not be more high," Jones said.

Trump has called on Jones to quit the race for “SICK and DEMENTED jokes.”

Miyares hammered Jones for never having prosecuted a case. Miyares said he was endorsed by major law enforcement agencies and worked to hire more policy and reduce violent crime during the last four years.

"Jay Jones is not a prosecutor, he is a politician," Miyares said. "He wants to fight the fights in Washington."

What did the Jones texts say?

Jones, a former state lawmaker from the Norfolk area, had texted a GOP lawmaker in 2022 that the state House speaker at the time deserved “two bullets to the head” and that he would “piss” on the graves of other Republicans. He had apologized in a statement about the texts.

Critics highlighted how the violent language came in the aftermath of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 and other recent political attacks.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Democrats across Virginia have condemned the remarks.

The attorney general candidate has appropriately apologized for his remarks,” Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol on Oct. 16. “I know his remarks have been condemned across the board by Democrats in the commonwealth of Virginia, and that’s the right thing to do.”

National Review, a conservative magazine, revealed Oct. 3 that Jones had mistakenly sent a text to GOP Virginia Delegate Carrie Coyner complaining about then-Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert, a Republican, for paying tribute to a moderate Democratic member.

"Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head," Jones said in a text.

The message referring to the former state House speaker, the leader of Nazy Germany and the leader of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. The text repackaged a joke among Brooklynites about Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley.

Jones specifically apologized to Gilbert, his wife and family. But Miyares said real accountability would mean dropping out of the race.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia attorney general debate focuses on Jay Jones texts, apology

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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