FALMOUTH, Va. – Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Sears delivered a fiery speech Saturday evening outside her campaign bus in Falmouth, near Fredericksburg, condemning what she described as a “culture of hate and violence” taking root within Democratic politics.
The event came just days after National Review first reported 2022 text messages sent by Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general. In the messages, Jones joked about violence against then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert, writing, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” and later referencing Gilbert’s children, saying, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy,” according to The Washington Post. The Associated Press and Politico later confirmed the authenticity of the exchange, which Jones has since acknowledged and apologized for.
Jones called the texts “abhorrent” and said reading them made him “sick to [his] stomach,” according to the Associated Press. He said he has apologized directly to Gilbert and his family and is taking full responsibility for his actions. “I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry,” he said in a written statement. “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family,” the AP reported. Jones said he does not plan to withdraw from the race.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger also condemned Jones’s remarks, saying she was “disgusted” by the messages and spoke to him personally. “I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words,” Spanberger said. “As a candidate—and as the next Governor of our Commonwealth—I will always condemn violent language in our politics,” according to Politico. Spanberger, however, has not called for Jones to end his campaign.
Sears used the controversy to argue that political violence and hostility have become normalized within the Democratic mainstream. “Jay Jones is the poster child for the Democratic establishment,” she told supporters. “And yet here he fantasizes about murdered little children lying lifeless in their mother’s arms,” according to remarks she made tonight in Falmouth.
Sears accused Spanberger and other Democratic leaders of encouraging anger and resentment among their supporters. “Abigail Spanberger urges her supporters to fill their hearts with violent hate,” Sears said. “Let your rage fuel you, Abigail says. Words have meaning. Rage is defined as violent, uncontrolled anger,” according to the same recording.
Throughout her remarks, Sears mixed sharp political criticism with religious language and personal testimony. Citing 1 Peter 5:8, she warned, “Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” She recounted receiving death threats since entering public life and connected those experiences to what she described as a broader rise in hostility toward conservative Christians.
“The unstable pull the triggers, but they are inspired by the hate tolerated and encouraged by the leadership of the Democrat Party,” Sears said. “Together we can reject the darkness and let in the light.”
In recent weeks, several Virginia lawmakers have reported receiving threats tied to the state’s increasingly tense political climate. Del. Geary Higgins (R–30th District), who represents parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, was targeted in August when a Purcellville man allegedly sent a text message threatening to shoot him at a campaign event and mentioning his children.
The suspect, Patrick Daniel Murphy, 68, was later arrested and charged with making a written threat, a Class 6 felony, according to Fauquier Now. State officials, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), condemned the threat and called for civility in public discourse. The incident followed other recent cases in which Virginia delegates reported violent messages or threats of harm, underscoring the broader rise in hostility toward public officials across the Commonwealth.
In Richmond, Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking re-election this fall, also weighed in on the controversy. In a statement released Saturday, Miyares called Jay Jones’ 2022 text messages “disgusting” and said they disqualify him from holding Virginia’s top law enforcement post. “The Attorney General is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Virginia, and law enforcement must be neutral and nonpartisan,” Miyares said.
“With recent revelations, it is clear that Jay Jones has proven he is reckless, he is biased, and he is willing to trade his integrity away, disqualifying himself from ever serving as Attorney General for Virginia.”
Sears, who served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2022 to 2026, took no questions from reporters and ended the speech with a call for unity through faith and civic participation. “Elections matter,” she said. “Let each of us vote and act to protect our beloved Commonwealth of Virginia and the gift from God that is the great United States of America.”
Early voting in Virginia continues through Saturday, November 1, with Election Day set for Tuesday, November 4. The Falmouth stop was part of Sears’s “Faith and Freedom” bus tour, as Virginia’s high-stakes 2025 gubernatorial race enters its final month.
