Beshear on whether he’ll vote for Jay Jones: ‘It’s going to be a very, very hard choice’

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) did not explicitly answer whether he would vote for Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones after he spoke out in text messages about violence against former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).

“If you lived in Virginia, would you vote for him?” Beshear, himself a former attorney general, was asked during a Fox News “Special Report” interview about Jones that aired Wednesday.

“This is going to be a very, very difficult thing for me to do. It’s really wrong and it bothers me,” the Kentucky governor responded.

Jones has recently faced pressure to drop out of the race after the text messages were leaked. Multiple Republicans inside and outside the Old Dominion have urged Jones to withdraw, including President Trump and Vice President Vance.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl-Sears, Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, launched ads linking her opponent, former Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, to Jones.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., called Jones’ recently released violent text messages “indefensible” but said he ultimately supported Jones.

“Jay has apologized. His comments are indefensible, but I’ve known Jay Jones for 25 years and I don’t think they were consistent with his character,” Kane told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

“I want others in public life to sincerely apologize, so, no, I’m still a supporter,” he continued.

The Hill has reached out to Jones’ campaign for comment.

Source link