Miyares outraises Jones four-to-one after texting scandal

Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Republican incumbent, outraised his Democratic opponent Jay Jones 4-to-1 in the first three weeks of October following the news about Jones’ violent 2022 text messages.

Campaign finance reports the state released Tuesday cover donations to candidates between Oct. 1 and Oct. 23. They’re the first look at how the Jones texting scandal, which surfaced Oct. 3, has affected fundraising in the race for attorney general.

Miyares raised $8.6 million in the 22 days, while Jones raised $1.9 million, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Jay Jones and Jason Miayres

Democrat Jay Jones, left, and Republican incumbent Jason Miyares are running for attorney general.

Before the texting scandal broke, Jones almost matched Miyares’ fundraising in September with $3.3 million raised compared with Miyares’ $3.5 million.

The Republican Attorneys General Association gave Miyares $6.5 million in the 22-day span, helping fund his late ads about the texting scandal.

The organization already had donated $4 million to Miyares’ campaign between June and August. It gave Miyares an additional $250,000 on Oct. 24 after the reporting period closed, according to VPAP.

Jones’ largest donor was the Democratic Attorneys General Association’s political action committee, which gave him $750,000 during the 22-day period. Those contributions are on top of the $3.1 million the Democratic Attorneys General Association contributed to Jones between February and September.

Jones also received $187,500 in the 22 days from Planned Parenthood of Virginia, which has publicly stood by Jones since the text scandal. The organization had donated about $182,000 to Jones in August and September.

The text message scandal began Oct. 3 when National Review published a story that revealed 2022 text messages in which Jones fantasized about shooting Virginia’s then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R- Shenandoah, and wished harm to Gilbert’s children. Republicans and Democrats alike condemned the texts, and Republicans called for Jones to step out of the race.

Democrats were split in their responses, with some reemphasizing their support for Jones and some seeking distance from him.

As of Oct. 23 — less than two weeks from Election Day — Miyares had $2.5 million cash on hand to finish the race, and Jones had $685,279.

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Race for governor

In the gubernatorial race, Democrat Abigail Spanberger has continued to outraise her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Spanberger raised $11.7 million in the 22-day span, to Earle-Sears’ $9.5 million. Spanberger headed into the last two weeks of the election with $4 million cash on hand while Earle-Sears had $1.3 million as of Oct. 23.

Spanberger’s largest donor in the period was the national Democratic Governors Association, which gave her $2.8 million. The DGA already had given Spanberger $7.56 million this year, so the new donations bring its contributions in the contest to more than $10.3 million.

Earle-Sears’ largest donor in the period was the DGA’s Republican counterpart, the Republican Governors Association, which gave her campaign $2 million in the time frame. RGA previously donated $3.5 million to Earle-Sears, and the latest contributions bring its donations to $5.5 million.

In 2021, the Republican Governors Association contributed $10.7 million to Glenn Youngkin’s successful run for governor.

Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC contributed $550,000 to Earle-Sears in the 22-day period. It previously had contributed nearly $200,000 to Earle-Sears’ campaign.

In the lieutenant governor race, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D- Chesterfield, the Democratic nominee, raised $1.9 million in the reporting period, compared with Republican John Reid’s $454,094.

Reid had slightly more cash on hand as of Oct. 23 with $350,955, compared with Hashmi’s $335,032.

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/10/29/miyares-outraises-jones-four-to-one-after-texting-scandal/