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More Senate Democrats dodged questions on whether Virginia Democratic candidate Jay Jones should drop out of his race for attorney general over resurfaced text messages in which he fantasized about putting “two bullets to the head” of a Republican colleague.
Asked whether Jones should quit his race, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., answered, “I haven’t given it a thought.”
Pressed whether he had read the text messages, which have caused massive political fallout in an already tight Virginia election, Whitehouse said, “I have not.”
Prominent Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., simply responded, “I don’t have time at the moment” and continued to walk away.
VIRGINIA LAWMAKER SAYS DEM AG CANDIDATE’S REMARKS ‘CHANGE THE ELECTION’
Senators Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Adam Schiff, and other Democrats refused to answer whether Jones should drop out of the race. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images and Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images and Screenshot/HBO)
Virginia Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner, was also willing to address the scandal. Warner ignored Fox News Digital’s questions on whether he would like Jones to return a donation he sent him to the campaign.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., started to give an answer, saying, “being somebody who has, in my family, you know, political violence is a real thing and it’s a big deal.”
Kelly stepped into an elevator and the doors closed before he could comment any further.
New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich answered, “I haven’t been tracking it, but like I said, violence and political violent rhetoric, I’m just done with it, it shouldn’t come from either side, anytime, ever.”
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Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., responded to a question on whether Jones should resign by saying, “political violence is a real thing and it’s a big deal.” (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, Sen. John Ossof, D-Ga., refused to answer at all and just walked away.
In texts obtained by Fox News Digital, Jones, a former Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates, once remarked on shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert in texts with another lawmaker.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones wrote.
In a subsequent text, Jones also wrote, “Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”
WATCH: KAINE DEFENDS JONES AMID AG CANDIDATE’S TEXTS ENVISIONING MURDER OF GOP LEADER: ‘STILL A SUPPORTER’
Jay Jones, who is running to become Virginia’s attorney general in 2025, has come under fire for a series of text messages calling for the death of political opponents and remarks about police officers. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
In another private text exchange, Jones said he hoped Gilbert’s children would die. When challenged, Jones doubled down, saying that such grief might be “a good thing” if it advanced his politics.
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Jones has since apologized, calling the remarks “embarrassing and shameful,” and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family.
