Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin doubled down Monday on his call for Democrat Jay Jones to exit the Virginia attorney general race, telling Fox News the resurfaced 2022 texts where Jones wished death on a rival and his children are "beyond belief."
"This is beyond disqualifying," Youngkin said on "Fox & Friends."
"And that's why the Democrats have to come together and figure out where their moral compass is, because they don't have one right now… this is a ticket that, in fact, is allowing someone to stay on the ticket who wants children to die, and I can't believe Virginians for a second will allow this to happen."
Jones, running against Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in the bellwether race, made violent remarks in a 2022 text exchange with GOP House Delegate Carrie Coyner about shooting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert.
‘CONSUMED WITH HATE': WINSOME SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS
"Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head," Jones wrote in part.
"Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time," he added.
Jones eventually made remarks suggesting violence toward Gilbert's young children, which Coyner called out in their exchange.
"You were talking about hopping [sic] Jennifer Gilbert's children would die," she said.
Jones replied, "Yes. I've told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy."
The development drew bipartisan condemnation, including from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, who is vying to fill Youngkin's seat after his term expires.
"I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he said and texted," Spanberger said in a statement. "I made clear to Jay that he must take full responsibility for his words… I will always condemn violent language in our politics."
Youngkin, however, argued Spanberger didn't go far enough, urging Democrats to call on Jones to "step down" from the race "in disgrace."
Jones' opponent, Miyares, said the embattled Democrat lacks the right "temperament" for the job while speaking to "America's Newsroom" on Monday.
"As the attorney general, as a top prosecutor in the state of Virginia, your job is to stop violence. I can't imagine somebody running for this office that has advocated for violence, not just against a colleague, somebody he has worked with, but against children," Miyares said.
"This is not the temperament of somebody that should be running for attorney general. So I don't view this as a right versus left issue. This a right versus wrong issue. This is really a question for Virginia, what kind of Virginia we could expect of our leaders, because this is the most basic test of civility and decency, and he has failed this."
When reached by Fox News Digital, Jones also did not deny the messages were his and blamed his opponent for allegedly planting stories.
"Like all people, I've sent text messages that I regret, and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics," he said.
"Let’s be clear about what is happening in the attorney general race right now: Jason Miyares is dropping smears through Trump-controlled media organizations to assault my character and rescue his desperate campaign.
"This is a strategy that ensures Jason Miyares will continue to be accountable to Donald Trump, not the people of Virginia. This race is about whether Trump can control Virginia or Virginians control Virginia."
Jones has since apologized, saying he is "embarrassed" and "ashamed" of the remarks and added that he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family.
Miyares, however, branded the apology as "fake."
"He was called out at the time when he texted this to a colleague… and he doubled down on it," he said.
"He's trying to save his political career because he's a politician. He isn't a prosecutor… And to so callously advocate this – to murder the children of a political rival – means he is wholly disqualified for this office."
Fox News' Amanda Macias, Charles Creitz and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
The post Youngkin presses Dems to push Jay Jones off Virginia AG ticket after 'beyond disqualifying' messages surface appeared first on FOX News