Jay Jones, the Democrat nominee for Virginia Attorney General has seen his support drop after violent texts he sent were revealed three weeks ago, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.
Jones saw his support drop 5 percentage points since last month’s poll, falling from 51% to 46%. He is now tied with Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, who saw his support increase 1 percentage point from last month.
Five percent of respondents said they would not support either candidate or cast a ballot for attorney general.
Jones sent a series of graphic and threatening text messages in August 2022 to former Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, following the death of Democrat lawmaker Joe Johnson.
“If those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves … Send them out awash in something,” Jones wrote.
The messages continue, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets every time.”
Coyner pleaded with Jones to stop, writing back, “Please stop.”
Jones laughed it off and replied, “Lol. Ok, ok.”
Coyner responded, “It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them.”
A majority of respondents, 51%, said Jones should drop out of the race, compared to 41% who believe he should stay in the race.
Only 26% of Democrats believe he should drop out, while 16% of likely voters who say Jones should drop out also said they plan to vote for him or have already done so.
The texting scandal has not affected the governor’s race, as former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., has a 12-point lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, 54% to 42%.
The poll was conducted Oct. 16-20 among a random sale of 927 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
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