WaPo: “Democrats are largely standing by their nominee for Virginia attorney general after revelations that he once mused about killing a GOP lawmaker — worrying some in the party who want to draw a hard line against political violence and drawing accusations of hypocrisy from Republicans.
Top Democrats have condemned the 2022 texts from Jay Jones but declined to join Republicans in calling for Jones to drop out, with early voting already underway in the battleground state. Republicans have quickly made the texts part of their closing pitch to voters, highlighting them in ads and attacking other Democrats for their muted responses.
The texts have put Democrats in an uncomfortable position at a moment when concerns about political violence are running high, growing after the killing last month of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Democrats have long criticized President Donald Trump and his allies for violent rhetoric and now face scrutiny of their own candidate in a marquee race.”