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... A string of text messages from Jay Jones, Virginia's Democratic nominee for attorney general, where he mused about violence directed toward a political rival is triggering widespread backlash and threatening to shake up the state's November election.

But while Jones has signaled he plans to remain in the race, Republicans up and down the ballot are pressing the Democratic nominee for governor, Abigail Spanberger, to publicly call on him to step aside.

In August 2022, Jones wrote about shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert in text messages he sent to Republican state Del. Carrie Coyner. The texts, which were first reported by National Review and subsequently viewed by The Washington Post, have not independently been confirmed by POLITICO, but Jones has not questioned their veracity and has publicly apologized for them.

"Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot," Jones wrote. "Gilbert gets two bullets to the head."

"Jay," Coyner responded. "Please stop."

Jones later called Coyner to continue their conversation, where he invoked the death of Gilbert's children and said it might cause the then-speaker to change his political views, National Review reported.

The messages risk roiling Virginia's off-year elections, with early voting already long underway in the state. Virginia's off-year gubernatorial elections are often viewed as one of the country's first political touchpoints following a presidential election. The state has trended blue in federal elections for years, but statewide offices are typically hypercompetitive that favor the party out of power in Washington. ...