Top GOP group drops big money into Virginia showdown after Dem AG nominee's violent texts go viral

The Republican Governors Association is dishing out an additional $1.5 million to boost Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee facing off against former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in November's ballot box gubernatorial showdown.

The new funding from the RGA, the top group that supports Republicans in races for governor, comes after explosive revelations in Virginia's attorney general race that the GOP is aiming to leverage up and down the ballot.

Democratic Party attorney general nominee Jay Jones has acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, where he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.

Jones has been in crisis mode since the texts were first reported last Friday by the National Review, and a chorus of calls from Republicans urges Jones to drop out of the race.

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Earle-Sears, who trails Spanberger in all the latest public opinion polls in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is hammering her Democratic rival for not calling on Jones to drop out of the race. 

The Earle-Sears campaign launched a new ad, which was first reported on Tuesday by Fox News Digital, that aims to link Spanberger to Jones and calls on voters to "reject the insanity" and "vote Republican."

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"It’s clearer now than ever that this race isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s common sense versus violence," said Peyton Vogel, a spokesperson for Earle-Sears campaign, in a statement to Fox News. "The RGA understands what’s at stake here in Virginia, and their support will help us stand strong against Abigail Spanberger’s ticket of rage."

The boost in funding by the RGA, first reported by Politico and confirmed by Fox News Digital, now matches the roughly $5 million investment by the rival Democratic Governors Association (DGA) to Spanberger. But the RGA’s infusion of cash is still far short of the nearly $11 million the group spent four years ago to help elect Youngkin.

Earle-Sears and Spanberger face off in a debate on Thursday evening, and it's expected the controversy over Jones' three-year-old texts will be discussed.

Virginia, along with New Jersey, are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential election and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year's midterm elections.

DGA Communications Director Sam Newton, asked for a comment, argued that "Winsome Sears is running a disastrous campaign."

Newton went on to say that "Instead of desperate spin to try to bail out a losing campaign, the RGA should ask Donald Trump a simple question: why does he still refuse to endorse or campaign with Sears?"

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Jones, who has apologized for the texts, has not held a campaign event since Friday evening.

Most Virginia Democrats, including the Commonwealth's two U.S. senators, have condemned Jones' comments, but have stopped short of urging him to drop out of the race.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a DGA vice chair who takes over as chair next year, told Fox News Digital that the text was "absolutely inappropriate.

"I condemn political violence in all forms and the type of language that would discuss or promote political violence," the governor emphasized in an interview in New Hampshire.

But asked about GOP calls for Jones to end his campaign, Beshear said, "I don’t know enough about that situation."

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed reporting.