Abigail Spanberger thought she could coast to victory in Virginia’s governor race.
Democrats figured nobody would notice her running mate’s ugly secret.
But Stephen Miller just gave Abigail Spanberger a rhetorical elbow drop over this horrific problem she refuses to fix.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff won’t let Spanberger forget Jay Jones
Spanberger keeps posting the same tired message on social media — she’s a mom of three daughters in Virginia public schools, she cares about families, she wants what’s best for kids.¹
The Democrat nominee for governor has run this routine so many times that Virginia voters could recite it in their sleep.
But White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller isn’t buying what she’s selling.² And he’s making sure everyone knows exactly why.
Miller fired back at one of Spanberger’s latest "concerned mom" posts with brutal directness.³
"Your running mate supports murder," Miller posted on X.⁴
Spanberger has gone out of her way to avoid discussing her running mate Jay Jones, the Democrat nominee for Virginia Attorney General.⁵ And after the texts that surfaced about Jones fantasizing about murdering a Republican lawmaker and his children, nobody can blame voters for wondering why she’s still standing by him.⁶
Jay Jones’s violent texts exposed his disturbing mindset
Jones sent text messages in 2022 describing a scenario where then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert "gets two bullets to the head."⁷
The texts didn’t stop there.
Jones went on to wish that Gilbert’s children would "die in their mother’s arms."⁸
When Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner objected to Jones’s violent fantasies, he didn’t back down.⁹ Instead, Jones tried calling her after she expressed how disturbed she was by his comments about shooting a colleague and wishing death on his family.¹⁰
Coyner later condemned the messages as "not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office."¹¹
The revelation sent shockwaves through Virginia politics when the texts became public in early October.¹² Republicans immediately called for Jones to drop out of the race.¹³ Governor Glenn Youngkin urged both Spanberger and Democrat lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmi to demand Jones exit the race.¹⁴
President Donald Trump personally weighed in, calling Jones’s remarks "not funny" and "deranged" while blasting Spanberger as "weak and ineffective" for not condemning Jones more forcefully.¹⁵
But Spanberger refused to call for Jones to leave the race.¹⁶
Spanberger’s weak response shows where her priorities lie
When the violent texts first surfaced, Spanberger issued what can only be described as the minimum possible statement.¹⁷
She said she was "disgusted" by Jones’s remarks and told him he "must fully take responsibility."¹⁸ Then she quickly pivoted to condemning "violent language in our politics" in general terms.¹⁹
Notice what’s missing — any actual consequence for Jones or any demand that he withdraw from the race.²⁰
Spanberger is trying to have it both ways.²¹ She wants credit for condemning violence while keeping Jones on the ticket because Democrats desperately need to win the Attorney General race to block Trump administration policies at the state level.²²
For Democrats, beating Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares matters more than their supposed principles about political violence.²³
Senator Tim Kaine made this calculation explicit when asked if he still supports Jones despite the texts.²⁴ "I do," Kaine responded, arguing the comments were "out of character" for someone he’s known for 25 years.²⁵
But here’s what Democrats won’t admit — Jones’s texts came in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025.²⁶ The Trump administration has made cracking down on left-wing political violence a top priority since losing one of the President’s closest allies.²⁷
Stephen Miller himself has been leading the charge, coordinating investigations into networks of radical leftist organizations.²⁸ White House Deputy Chief of Staff Miller said the Jones episode showed how "dangerously radicalized the Democrat Party has become."²⁹
Virginia Democrats standing by a candidate who fantasized about murdering Republicans and their children looks even worse against this backdrop.³⁰
The hypocrisy Democrats won’t acknowledge
Spanberger keeps posting about being a concerned mother while refusing to distance herself from someone who wished death on another politician’s children.³¹
She talks about protecting kids in Virginia schools but won’t call out her running mate for violent rhetoric targeting kids.³²
The contrast couldn’t be starker.³³
Miller’s blunt accusation cuts to the heart of Spanberger’s moral failure — how can she claim to care about children’s safety while standing shoulder to shoulder with Jay Jones?³⁴
Recent polling shows the controversy is taking a toll on Spanberger’s once-commanding lead.³⁵ A new Trafalgar Group poll found the race for governor in a dead heat, with 60% of voters saying Jones’s texts had a "significant to some impact" on their views.³⁶
The poll tightened even further after the October 9 debate between Spanberger and Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, where Earle-Sears repeatedly pressed Spanberger to call for Jones to exit the race.³⁷
"What if he said it about your two children? Your three children? Is that when you would say he should get out of the race, Abigail?" Earle-Sears demanded during the debate.³⁸
Spanberger had no good answer then, and she doesn’t have one now.³⁹
Democrats calculated they could weather this storm by having Jones apologize and then hoping voters would forget about it by Election Day.⁴⁰ But with Trump administration officials like Miller keeping the issue front and center, that strategy is collapsing.⁴¹
The White House clearly sees Virginia’s statewide races as critical, and they’re not about to let Democrats pretend Jay Jones’s violent fantasies are old news.⁴²
For Spanberger, the concerned mom routine only works if voters don’t think too hard about the company she keeps.⁴³ Stephen Miller just made sure they’re thinking about it.⁴⁴
¹ Abigail Spanberger, X post, October 13, 2025, as referenced in Sam J., "RUH-ROH RABBY! Stephen Miller Drops in on Abigail Spanberger to ‘Chat’ About Her VIOLENT Running Mate," Twitchy, October 14, 2025.
² Stephen Miller, X post reply, October 14, 2025, referenced in Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Gregory S. Schneider, "Democrats largely stand behind Jay Jones after violent texts," The Washington Post, October 8, 2025.
⁶ Emma Thompson, "’Beyond disqualifying’: Jay Jones controversy jolts Virginia’s pivotal 2025 elections," Virginia Mercury, October 5, 2025.
⁷ Adam Edelman, Gary Grumbach and Raquel Coronell Uribe, "Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones under fire over resurfaced text messages suggesting Republican should get ‘bullets to the head,’" NBC News, October 4, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ryan James, "Virginia Democrats criticize AG candidate for violent texts but aren’t demanding he quit race," CNN Politics, October 6, 2025.
¹¹ Martha Williams, "Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general facing pressure over resurfaced text messages," CNN Politics, October 4, 2025.
¹² Thompson, Virginia Mercury, October 5, 2025.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Wikipedia contributors, "2025 Virginia gubernatorial election," Wikipedia, accessed October 14, 2025.
¹⁵ Thompson, Virginia Mercury, October 5, 2025.
¹⁶ Schneider, The Washington Post, October 8, 2025.
¹⁷ Edelman, Grumbach and Uribe, NBC News, October 4, 2025.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Schneider, The Washington Post, October 8, 2025.
²¹ Ryan James, CNN Politics, October 6, 2025.
²² Ibid.
²³ Ibid.
²⁴ Ibid.
²⁵ Ibid.
²⁶ The White House, "Honoring the Memory of Charlie Kirk," Proclamation, September 10, 2025.
²⁷ The White House, "VP Vance, Administration Leaders Honor Charlie Kirk’s Enduring Legacy," September 15, 2025.
²⁸ Kevin Liptak and Arlette Saenz, "Stephen Miller emerges as key architect of Trump’s offensive on Democratic cities," CNN Politics, October 11, 2025.
²⁹ Thompson, Virginia Mercury, October 5, 2025.
³⁰ Michael Rogers, "Virginia AG candidate faces bipartisan backlash over violent, inflammatory text messages," CBS News, October 6, 2025.
³¹ Sam J., Twitchy, October 14, 2025.
³² Williams, CNN Politics, October 4, 2025.
³³ Rogers, CBS News, October 6, 2025.
³⁴ Sam J., Twitchy, October 14, 2025.
³⁵ Sarah Martinez, "New poll shows Virginia governor’s race in a dead heat, Miyares takes lead in AG race," WJLA, October 13, 2025.
³⁶ Ibid.
³⁷ Ibid.
³⁸ Ibid.
³⁹ Schneider, The Washington Post, October 8, 2025.
⁴⁰ Ryan James, CNN Politics, October 6, 2025.
⁴¹ Liptak and Saenz, CNN Politics, October 11, 2025.
⁴² Ibid.
⁴³ Sam J., Twitchy, October 14, 2025.
⁴⁴ Ibid.
