Staffers occupying a variety of posts within the Trump administration, officials trusted with administering key government services, public school teachers, and Democratic political committees collectively donated nearly $1 million to Virginia Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones after leaked text messages revealed that he fantasized about murdering a fellow lawmaker and their children.
On Oct. 3, National Review broke the story that Jones said he would shoot Republican lawmaker Todd Gilbert twice if given two bullets and an opportunity to shoot Gilbert, Pol Pot, or Hitler. Jones went on to state that it would be a good thing if Gilbert’s children were killed as well.
After this news broke, left-wing donors began cutting checks.
A Washington Examiner review of newly released state campaign finance records found that federal government employees were among those who financially supported Jones following his murder fantasies. Among them were a researcher and contract specialist working for the Navy, an engineer from the Department of Transportation, a foreign service officer from the State Department, a human resources professional from the Department of Justice, a lawyer from the Treasury Department, and a communications adviser from the Defense Contract Management Agency
President Donald Trump himself has denounced Jay Jones.
“You mean the one that wanted to kill some of his children and kill somebody?” the president said after being informed of the story by reporters aboard Air Force One. “You mean the animal that wanted to kill somebody who should not be allowed to be running for that office? He’s a third-rate intellect, he’s a guy who — I’ve never seen anybody say what he said, that he wanted to kill his opponent’s children — he wanted to kill his opponent. I can’t imagine anybody voting for Jay Jones. Look, you would think he’s totally discredited. I would think he wouldn’t even be allowed to do that; anybody would be put in prison for what he said.”
Officials responsible for providing Virginians with key government services may not have shared the view that Jones’s violent rhetoric is disqualifying, as they made donations to him shortly after the story broke.
The chief economist at the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, the government agency responsible for administering Medicaid in the commonwealth, for instance, cut a check to Jones on Oct. 21. His colleague, the CFO of Virginia’s Medicaid service, donated to Jones two days later. Even an elected official, Norfolk’s city treasurer, contributed to Jones on Oct. 15.
In addition to his text messages, Jones also faces scrutiny over reports that law enforcement caught him speeding at 116 mph. The attorney general nominee avoided jail time by promising to complete 1,000 hours of community service, but raised eyebrows after it was revealed that he counted hours working for his personal political action committee toward his debt. The matter has since been referred to a special prosecutor for investigation.
Those responsible for educating Virginia’s children and young adults were also counted among those who donated to Jones after his controversial texts were made public.
The Washington Examiner’s review identified fourteen professors and five public school teachers. Among their employers are Arlington Public Schools, Norfolk Public Schools, Richmond Public Schools, the Appalachian School of Law, the College of William & Mary, George Washington University, Michigan State University, Rappahannock Community College, the University of Illinois Chicago, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech.
Several academic administrators at colleges and public school districts were also counted among his donors.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the Democratic establishment’s refusal to push Jones out of the race, its financial apparatus continued to support him generously even after his text messages went viral.
Catholics for Choice interim president Christopher Wimbush, who donated to Jones on Oct. 18, is one such example. Wimbush’s organization has long decried gun violence.
Large donations from the Democratic financial apparatus after the text story broke include $743,000 from the Democratic Governors Association, $50,000 from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, $30,000 from the Eighth District Democratic Committee, $7,500 from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, and $2,500 from the Plumbers & Gasfitters Union Local #5.
CORPORATE DONORS STAND BY VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE JAY JONES
Jones received a total of $1.9 million in donations between Oct. 1 and Oct. 27, according to campaign finance records.
RealClearPolitics’s average of polls tracking the Virginia attorney general’s race has Republican incumbent Jason Miyares 3.3 points ahead of Jones at the time of writing.
