Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger’s campaign store still sells merchandise boasting of her connection with embattled attorney general nominee Jay Jones, despite her recent efforts to separate the two campaigns.
A “Spanberger-Hashmi-Jones” shirt and a bumper sticker were listed on the campaign store as of Wednesday morning. Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to The Daily Wire’s inquiry on whether the items would remain on the website. Jones is facing intense controversy following the release of text messages in which he called for the deaths of a political opponent and his children.
During a recent debate with her Republican opponent, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanberger attempted to distance herself from Jones.
“We are all running our individual races,” Spanberger said when asked to answer “yes or no” if she still endorsed Jones, adding that it’s up to voters to “make their own decision.”
“I am running my race to serve Virginia and that is what I intend to do,” she added.
The Republican Governors Association said that the merchandise still being listed shows cozy ties between the Democrats running for high-profile offices in the commonwealth.
Spanberger “is still selling Jay Jones merchandise. A man who fantasized about murdering his political opponents and their children,” the group posted to X on Tuesday. “Spanberger still fully endorses Jay Jones!”
Following the debate, Earle-Sears tweeted that “Abigail Spanberger had three chances to call on Jay Jones to drop out—and she couldn’t do it. Three chances to show courage and she failed every one.”
Earlier this month, National Review reported on texts Jones sent to a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2022 regarding former Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican who held the position at the time.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones said in one of the messages.
Jones is running against incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, and some critics have called on the Democrat to exit the race.
“Jay Jones wished for the violent death of a political opponent and then fantasized about that opponent’s children dying in their mother’s arms,” Miyares wrote in a statement in light of the text scandal. “When confronted, he doubled down, saying that kind of grief and pain would be a good thing if it advanced his politics. And politics aside, one has to be coming from a dark place to advocate the murder of a colleague and their family. This conduct is disqualifying.”
Jones previously released a statement apologizing for the texts. Election Day is November 4 in Virginia, but early voting has already kicked off.
