Abigail Spanberger and Winsome Earl Sears clash over Jay Jones’ violent texts in their lone Virginia gubernatorial debate

Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earl Sears sparred repeatedly and bitterly Thursday during their only debate in Virginia’s governor’s race this fall — and much of it wasn’t even about the candidates on stage.

Instead, the hour-long standoff at Norfolk State University — in which moderators repeatedly asked Earl Sears to refrain from speaking with her opponent — centered prominently on Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, Jay Jones.

Last week, texts from 2022 surfaced in which Jones suggested shooting a top state legislative Republican, sparking bipartisan condemnation and calls from Republicans for Jones to drop out of the race.

Spanberger, a former congresswoman who condemned the texts but stopped short of calling on Jones to withdraw, repeatedly declined to say Thursday evening whether she still supported him.

The fireworks started almost immediately, when Lieutenant Governor Earl Sears, responding to a question about the state’s car tax, tried to steer the conversation toward Jones.

“Abigail, when are you going to take Jay Jones and say, ‘You should leave the race?’” “He said he wanted to kill his political opponent, and not only that, but the children of his political opponents,” Earl Sears said.

The first question the moderators asked Spanberger was also on the subject: Did she know about the texts before they became public and did she continue to endorse Jones?

Spanberger called Jones’ texts “absolutely abhorrent” and said she would “denounce them at every opportunity” and that “it is important that candidates always condemn violence, no matter what side of the aisle they are on.”

Spanberger then accused Earl Sears of “routinely” referring to her as “your enemy,” prompting Earl Sears to interrupt and say, “Don’t lie like that, Abigail.”

“Voters now have the information, and it is up to voters to make an individual decision based on that information,” Spanberger said. After pressure from moderators, Spanberger said again: “I say as of right now it’s up to each voter to make their individual decision.”

The topic kept coming up throughout the evening. Earl Sears often interrupted supervisors and Spanberger to confront Spanberger directly, often looking at her and calling her by her first name.

“I wonder why my opponent, other than that he’s obnoxious and disgusting, doesn’t say it’s unacceptable and that he should leave the race because Jay Jones called for Abigail to be killed,” Earl Sears said at one point. “Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is this what he will do? And then you’re going to say he needs to get out of the race, Abigail? You don’t have anything to say?”

“Have some political courage,” Earl Sears continued after a moment. “What you’ve done is you’re making political calculations about your future as governor. Well, as governor, you have to make tough choices, and that means asking Jay Jones to leave the race.”

Spanberger did not respond directly to Earle-Sears on the issue at any time.

Throughout the race, Spanberger maintained significant advantages over Earle-Sears in polling and fundraising. But the emergence of Jones’ texts, which further inflamed already raw emotions about political violence, injected an unexpected jolt throughout the race — one of the first major statewide contests to take place since last year’s presidential race. With early voting already underway in Virginia, Thursday’s debate was likely one of Earl Sears’ last chances to make gains.

At other points, Earl Sears launched an attack on Spanberger for her positions on transgender participation in youth sports and use of school locker rooms and public bathrooms, which was a large part of her campaign’s closing message.

Spanberger was asked about culture war issues — which have emerged as a notable flashpoint in the 2024 presidential campaign — as moderators pressed her on whether “trans girls are biological males.” [should] Allowing girls to use bathrooms and play on girls’ sports teams in K-12 schools.

Spanberger repeated a line she had used for most of her campaign, saying she felt it was “important that we have parents, teachers and administrators making decisions about their individual schools, not politicians.”

But after coming under pressure from moderators again, Spanberger said: “There should never be naked men in the room.” [girls] Locker rooms.”

The two candidates also battled over education, immigration and reproductive rights, and their debates over shutting down the federal government emerged as another area where fireworks erupted.

Asked whether, as governor, she would ask President Donald Trump to use his power to work with Democrats to reopen the government, Earl Sears accused Spanberger of using Trump’s firings of federal employees this year, through his Department of Government Efficiency, as a “political football.” (Spanberger tried to blame Earl Sears for the federal government shutdown, linking it to Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce, which had a major impact on Virginia.)

Spanberger “was trying to say she loves federal employees more than anyone else,” Earle Sears said, before demanding that Spanberger convince Virginia’s two Democratic senators to “go back, do your job and vote” to reopen the government.

“I would encourage everyone, Democratic senators, House Democrats, House Republicans, to work together,” Spanberger responded.

In another explosive moment on same-sex marriage, which Earl Sears said she was “morally opposed to,” Spanberger said Earl Sears “has previously said she does not believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.”

“That’s not discrimination, that’s not discrimination,” Earl Sears interrupted.