Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’s (R) gubernatorial campaign is launching a $1 million ad buy following what the campaign said was an influx of cash in the wake of a string of leaked texts from Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones.
The Hill was the first outlet to report on the television and digital ad buy, which is set to go up in Washington, D.C.’s media market on Thursday ahead of Earle-Sears’s debate against her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
The buy marks the return of Earle-Sears’s ads to the pricey media market. The ad featured in the buy ties Spanberger to Jones’s leaked texts, in which he expresses violence toward former state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).
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“We have a tremendous opportunity to make clear the difference between the [lieutenant governor] and Abigail Spanberger. Her continued support of Jay Jones is unconscionable and voters won’t stand for it,” the Earle-Sears campaign said in a statement.
The ad is the second spot released by the Earle-Sears campaign tying Spanberger to the texting controversy.
Jones sent the texts about shooting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) to Republican state Del. Carrie Coyner in 2022. The Democrat was not in elected office at the time.
Spanberger’s campaign was quick to make her displeasure with the news known, releasing a statement saying she had conveyed her “disgust” to Jones in a conversation. However, Republicans, including President Trump, were quick to argue that Spanberger did not go far enough in not calling on Jones to drop out of the race.
, 2025-10-08 19:39:00, 
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