election | ALXnow

Jones text scandal, ice cream assault case lead Alexandria’s top stories

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:30PM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.

With less than a month until the Nov. 4 general election, this week’s most-read story is on the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. The National Review broke the news last Friday (Oct. 3) that in August 2022, Jones sent text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner (R-75), “fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children,” according to the Virginia Mercury story posted on ALXnow.

News

Candidates in Virginia governor’s debate clash over shutdown and violent rhetoric

By The Associated Press

Published October 9, 2025 at 9:01PM | Updated October 9, 2025 at 9:19PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

By OLIVIA DIAZ, STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger faced off Thursday for the first and only time on the debate stage in a fiery affair that was combative from the very first answer.

News

What to watch for in the Virginia governor’s race debate between Spanberger and Earle-Sears

By Steve Peoples and Olivia Diaz, Associated Press

Published October 9, 2025 at 7:08AM | Updated October 9, 2025 at 12:19PM

This combo image shows Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right. (AP Photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger are slated to debate their competing visions for Virginia on Thursday in the state’s gubernatorial race. And each woman arguably has the same goal: to blame her opponent for backing the chaos in Washington.

Virginia is one of two states choosing governors this November, and its election is often seen as a bellwether for the party in power across the Potomac River ahead of midterm elections next year.

News

‘Beyond disqualifying’: Jay Jones controversy jolts Virginia’s pivotal 2025 elections

By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

Published October 6, 2025 at 7:40AM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

What began as a quiet October Friday in Virginia politics erupted into a full-blown national scandal when screenshots of private, three-year old text messages showing Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children were made public.

The National Review story revealed an August 2022 exchange between Jones — a former Norfolk delegate and one-time assistant attorney general — and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield. In the texts, Jones described a scenario in which Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head,” followed by a wish that the Republican lawmaker’s children “die in their mother’s arms.”

News

GOP state Sen. Reeves launches 2026 US Senate bid, aims to unseat Warner

By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

Published September 24, 2025 at 12:05PM | Updated September 24, 2025 at 1:42PM

Virginia state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, announced Wednesday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2026, challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner. (Photo courtesy of campaign)

Virginia state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, launched his campaign Wednesday for the U.S. Senate, setting up a high-stakes 2026 challenge to three-term Democratic Sen. Mark Warner.

Reeves made his announcement on social media, leaning heavily on his background in the military, law enforcement and the General Assembly.

News

Virginia Democrats and some Republicans want to extend ACA tax credits as shutdown looms

By Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury

Published September 23, 2025 at 5:15AM | Updated September 23, 2025 at 5:46AM

Patient rooms at Inova Health Center - Oakville (staff photo by James Cullum)

Several members of Virginia’s Democratic congressional delegation met virtually Monday morning to discuss their efforts to extend special tax credits that help people purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The credits will expire at the end of the year unless Congress renews them.

About 400,000 Virginians purchase health insurance through the state’s exchange, and some of those people qualify for Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, which were established in 2021, extended in 2022 and apply to people that earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. About 100,000 Virginians are expected to lose marketplace coverage, the state exchange’s director said.

News

Who’s more excited to welcome this Trump ally to Virginia – Democrats or Republicans?

By Steve Peoples and Olivia Diaz, Associated Press

Published September 19, 2025 at 11:11AM | Updated September 19, 2025 at 8:29PM

FILE - Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears greets visitors prior to the start of the Senate Session at the Virginia Capitol, Jan. 25, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — With President Donald Trump noticeably absent from Virginia’s race for governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears turned to a prominent Trump ally to help energize supporters Friday night.

And Democrats may have been more excited than Republicans to welcome the special guest.

News

Notes: Early voting opens today in Alexandria for November election

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 19, 2025 at 7:00AM | Updated September 19, 2025 at 9:32AM

A voting sign at the Alexandria Registrar of Voters, 132 N. Royal Street, in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies and a high near 87 degrees during the day, accompanied by a light northwest wind at 3 to 5 mph. As we transition into Friday night, skies will be partly cloudy with a low around 64 degrees. The wind will become calm, shifting to a gentle northeast breeze of around 5 mph after midnight.

News

Youngkin orders election security changes one week before early voting begins

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 12, 2025 at 12:15PM

A voting sign at the Alexandria Registrar of Voters, 132 N. Royal Street, in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday signed an executive order requiring Virginia to strengthen coordination with federal agencies and conduct a statewide election preparedness exercise before early voting begins next week.

Executive Order 53 directs the state Department of Elections to expand data sharing with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Election Assistance Commission to identify ineligible voters and update Virginia’s voting system certification standards to incorporate new federal guidelines.

News

Early voting begins Sept. 19 in Alexandria for statewide races

By James Cullum

Published September 9, 2025 at 1:30PM

A voting sign at the Alexandria Registrar of Voters, 132 N. Royal Street, in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Early voting for November’s general election starts on Friday, Sept. 19, across Virginia. Here’s what you need to know in Alexandria.

Early voting starts 45 days before election day, and the only contested elections voters can decide on in Alexandria are for the Virginia governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

News

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is on the defensive in Virginia’s race for governor

By Olivia Diaz | Associated Press/Report For America

Published August 10, 2025 at 9:09AM | Updated August 10, 2025 at 11:56AM

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears greets voters at her military-themed rally at Saucy’s Sit-Down Bar.B.Q in Hopewell, Va., on Aug. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivia Diaz)

HOPEWELL, Va. (AP) — Against an olive drab backdrop in a barbecue joint filled with the aroma of pulled pork and the sweat of a Virginia summer, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears told voters she was running her campaign for governor like a military-style operation.

The lieutenant governor, a former Marine, said she would protect Virginia just as she did America. The way Earle-Sears tells it, not all attacks come from soldiers.