Republican Virginia state Del. Carrie Coyner, who was the recipient of the infamous violent text messages sent by Democratic Attorney General-elect Jay Jones, lost her bid for reelection to the House of Delegates on Tuesday.
Jones, who defeated incumbent Jason Miyares on Tuesday, drew backlash for lost by more than five percentage points by Democrat Lindsey Dougherty.
“Tonight’s results mark the end of my time serving our community in elected office, but not the end of my love for this community or my commitment to its people,” Coyner wrote in a statement. “For 14 years, it has been the greatest honor to serve you on the School Board and General Assembly— to listen, to work alongside you, and to build lasting friendships that I will always treasure.”
In the leaked texts, Jones wrote that if he had Gilbert, Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot before him with a gun containing two bullets, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” according to the National Review, which obtained the messages.
“I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves … [to] send them out awash in something,” Jones reportedly wrote about Republican colleagues such as Gilbert, and described Gilbert and his wife as “evil” and “breeding little fascists.”
At one point, Jones allegedly called Coyner, suggesting he wished Gilbert’s wife would have to watch her own child die in her arms so Gilbert might rethink his politics, prompting Coyner to hang up.
When Coyner criticized him for wishing death on Gilbert’s children, Jones allegedly replied, “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
Coyner did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Democrats on Tuesday won a sweeping victory across Virginia, flipping the governor’s office, lieutenant governorship and attorney general’s office, while gaining at least ten seats in the House of Delegates. With full control of the state government, the new Democratic majority is expected to roll back Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policy reforms and redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in a move that could net Democrats up to three additional congressional seats.
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